winter2009newsletter

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www.stutteringhelp.org • 800-992-9392 • www.tartamudez.org

THE STUTTERING FOUNDATIONA Nonprofit Organization Since 1947... Helping Those Who StutterWINTER 2009

Clinical Trialon Cognitive

Behavior TherapyBy Susan Block

Social anxiety (i.e. anxiety aris-ing in social encounters) cannot beoverlooked in the management ofchronic stuttering. The evidence fora relationship between anxiety andstuttering is con-siderable. Adultswho stutter havereported high lev-els of trait, state,and social anxietyon standard mea-surement instru-ments (Hancock& Craig, 1998;K r a a i m a a t ,Janssen, & Vandambaggen, 1991).Those who stutter appear to experi-ence higher than normal levels ofanxiety, independent of speech. Arecent, large-scale population studyof Australians (Craig, Hancock,Tran, & Craig, 2003) found traitanxiety levels to be higher in stut-tering participants than in controls.This paper presents the results of

a study in Australia in which theauthors examined social anxietyand stuttering. The study examinedthe rate of social phobia among 32adults who stutter, the effects ofspeech restructuring treatment onsocial anxiety, and then the effectson anxiety and stuttering of a cog-nitive-behavior therapy (CBT)package for social anxiety.

Susan Block, Ph.D.

James Waitus Garrison Remembered1917-2008

Longtime Stuttering FoundationBoard member, James WaitusGarrison, passed away at home inMemphis on Sept. 29,2008, the morning of his91st birthday.Jimmie was SFA

Founder MalcolmFraser’s most trustedfriend and colleague andhad been on theFoundation Board since

its inception in 1947.“He was razor sharp and always

asked the tough questions,” notedFoundation PresidentJane Fraser.“He kept me on my

toes and made sure wewere on track at alltimes, fulfilling my fa-ther’s hopes of makinga real difference forthose who stutter.” �

Jimmie and LouiseGarrison celebrate their70th wedding anniv er-sary in September 2008.

StutterTalk is a weekly podcastwhere three guys who stutter talkopenly about stuttering.Co-hosts Peter Reitzes, Greg

Snyder and Eric Jackson get to-gether and talk aboutstuttering and life.Peter explains, “Wehave fun, laugh, argueand agree, talk aboutthe stuttering world,music, movies, andour wives and girlfriends. We tryand make sense of the whole stut-tering thing by talking about it.”Recently, StutterTalk’s “3 guys”

attended the Stuttering FoundationWorkshop Reunion reception andinterviewed several Foundationworkshoppers for their podcast,asking their opinion of the trainingthey received at SFA workshopsthrough the years.“The workshops include really

intense practice and knowledge-able discussions. You walk awayfeeling comfortable with treatingpeople who stutter,” comments Dr.Nan Bernstein Ratner. She notedhow stimulating it was for her to

Three Guys Who Stutter...

The Podcast

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�Joe Donahertalk s to the“3 Guys” fromStutterTalk .

�Nan Ratner andLee Caggianoshare theirthoughts.

Eric Jacksonholds the

microphone.

see Dr. Hugo Gregory “in action”during the workshop she attended.Joe Donaher, who now leads the

Philadelphia workshop, added, “It

Inside...�10 Downing Street . . . . . . . . 3�Brochure for Teens .. . . . . . . 4�Windy City Hosts ASHA . . . 5�Golfing for a Cause . . . . . . . 7�Awareness Worldwide . . . . 10

winter_2009.qx7:newsletter 1/2/09 8:39 AM

William H. Perkins, a nation-ally recognized authority onstuttering, died Oct. 6, 2008.He was 85.Perkins received theAmerican

Speech-Language-HearingAssociation’s high-est honor in 1973.Perkins was profes-sor emeritus ofspeech pathologyand otolaryngologyat the University ofSouthern Califor-nia’s Keck School

of Medicine, and speech com-munication at the AnnenbergSchool for Communication. Hewas awarded DistinguishedEmeritus status at USC in 1991.“Bill was a delightful and

stimulating person, alwaysready to challenge traditionalways of seeing a problem,” saidJane Fraser, who worked withPerkins editing several SFAbooks. “He possessed a quickwit and a great sense of humor.”As director of The

Stuttering Center at USC, heoversaw a speech clinic thatspecialized in the treatment ofstuttering. At the end of his ca-

800-992-93922 www.stutteringhelp.orgSTUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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William H.Perk ins

“Find Yourself A Dream - TheBob Love Story,” a documentaryabout Bob Love and his struggleto overcome hisstuttering, has wonan Emmy in thec a t e g o r y ,O u t s t a n d i n gAchievement for aD o c u m e n t a r yProgram. The an-nouncement wasmade on Saturday,October 18, 2008,by the Chicago/Midwest Chapterof the NationalAcademy ofTelevision Arts &Sciences at their50th AnnualChicago MidwestEmmy Awards ceremony.Love is not only a spokesman

for the Stuttering Foundation butalso is featured on theFoundation’s Famous PeopleWho Stutter poster and brochure.As Director of Community

Affairs for the Chicago Bulls,Bob Love makes over three hun-dred appearances each year, andspeaks to over 250,000 youngpeople and their parents aboutthe importance of staying in

school, getting an education, per-severing over adversity, andachieving one’s dreams.

More recently,SFA Board mem-ber, Jean Gruss rec-ommended Love askeynote speaker forthe 2008 SouthwestFlorida Blue ChipC o m m u n i t yBusiness Awardluncheon in FortMyers, Florida. Itwas a most fittingsetting for him asthis award recog-nizes small busi-ness leaders whohave overcome ad-versity to achievesuccess and shares

their stories as models for otherentrepreneurs just as Love him-self has.Love autographed his book

and Stuttering Foundation postersfor hundreds of banquet guests. �

ʻFind Yourself a Dreamʼ Wins Emmy

New 2009 SFA posterwithChicago Bulls’ legendBob Love.

The SFA’sFamousPeopleWhoStutter posterandbrochure.

DistinguishedProfessor Emeritus

Bill PerkinsRemembered

reer, Perkins became an outspo-ken critic of his field, callinginto question the conventionalunderstanding of stammeringand how it should be treated.“I realized that the road we

were on was not leading to anunderstanding of the fundamen-tal nature of stammering; it wasa circular track that was beingrepaved regularly,” he wrote. “Ileft the paving crew to blaze myown trail in a different directionby following markers of thosewho stammer.”He went on to advocate a sci-

entific approach that accountedfor the subjective experience ofthe stutterer.“If science requires objectify-

ing stutterers to the extent of di-vesting them of their subjectiveexperience because it cannot bemeasured traditionally by what isreadily observed,” he said, “thenscience is the loser.”After receiving his B.S. in

1943 from Missouri StateCollege, Perkins enlisted in theNavy and served in World War IIas a gunnery officer stationed inthe South Pacific. He retiredfrom the U.S. Naval Reserve in

1983 as a lieutenant commander.After retiring in 1988, Perkins

devoted his career to solving whathe called “the unsolvable problemof stammering.” It was his contro-versial book, Tongue Wars:Recovery from Stammering, whichchallenged the profession to re-consider long-held orthodoxy.He is survived by his wife, Jill

and sons, Scott, Kyle,Christopher, and his daughter-in-law, Denise. The family requeststhat donations be made to theAlzheimer’s Association in Dr.Perkins’ name to further scientif-ic research. �


WINTER 2009 3800-992-9392STUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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Frances Cook , Michael Palin, JaneFraser and Joe Boulding.

�Michael Palin, The Right HonorableEdwardBalls and 15-year-oldCatherine.

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I gracesthe room above the crowd.

The Right Honorable Edward Balls,Sarah Brown andMichael Palin.

Joe Fulcher and Jane Fraser at10 Downing Street.

Back row: David Botterill, OliverRawlins (a Trustee of the MichaelPalin Centre), Kit Sparkes andWillieBotterill. Front row: Sharon Millard,Sarah Broadhead, Jane Fry, FrancesCook, Diana de Grunwald, ElaineKelman, Ali Berquez andLiz Jorden.

�Jane Fraser,Joe Fulcher,Travers ReidandMrs. Reid.

LordMax Egremont, Cabinet MinisterEdBalls, Sarah Brown andMichael Palin.

LordMax Egremont and Jane Fraser.

Michael Palin and Sarah Brown.

Stuttering Foundation representa-tives Joe Fulcher and Jane Fraserjoined actor Michael Palin and thestaff of the Michael Palin Centre forStammering Children at theSeptember 11 reception at 10Downing Street hosted by Mrs. SarahBrown, wife of the Prime MinisterGordon Brown, in honor of the workdone on behalf of children who stutter.“It was a most remarkable experi-

ence at such an historic site,” com-mented Jane Fraser.Speakers at the reception included

Michael Palin, The Right HonorableEdward Balls, and noted author,Lord Max Egremont.Cabinet Minister Ed Balls spoke

eloquently of his difficulties as astuttering child. In the past year, hehas been a driving force in obtainingadditional funding for children whostammer. This funding will help ex-pand the work the Centre does intraining therapists throughout theUnited Kingdom.The Stuttering Foundation, in

turn, is striving to promote these ef-fective treatment ideas worldwide.Lord Max Egremont also recalled

his school days as a child who stam-mered and the difficulties that they en-tailed. Both joined in praise for the out-standing work on behalf of childrenand young people being carried out bythe staff of the Michael Palin Centre.In a recent letter to Jane Fraser,

Balls emphasized, “Helping childrenand young people who stutter is vital.Meeting and talking to so many peo-ple who work with the Centre, or arepatients, really demonstrated justhow important its work is.” �

10 Downing Street


4 www.stutteringhelp.org 800-992-9392STUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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The October issue of the na-tional publication, AmericanTeacher, generously spread theword that Trouble at Recess isavailable free of charge to schoollibraries across the country.

Through thisexposure, theMiami-DadeCounty schoolsystem quick-ly got theword to themedia spe-cialists intheir elemen-tary schools

and in one week the StutteringFoundation received 55 re-quests for the book! To date,hundreds have been sent to li-brarians in 15 states throughoutthe country. �

Trouble at RecessGets National Press

StutterTalkCo-host Bios:Greg Snyder is an adult stut-terer and is currently an assis-tant professor atthe Department ofCommun i c a t i v eDisorders at theUniversity ofMississippi.He earned a Ph.D.

from the Department ofCommunication Sciences andDisorders at East CarolinaUniversity. After graduation,Greg was assistant professor inthe Department of Hearing,Speech, and Language Sciencesat Gallaudet University. Gregand his family currently reside inOxford, MS.Peter Reitzes is an adult stuttererand an ASHA certified, speech-

language pathologistworking in an ele-mentary school andin private practice inBrooklyn, NewYork. He is the au-thor of 50 GreatActivities for

Children Who Stutter: Lessons,Insights, and Ideas for TherapySuccess (PRO-ED), is co-editorof the Journal of StutteringTherapy, Advocacy and Research(www.JournalOfStuttering.com),and is adjunct professor at St.John’s University and TouroUniversity.Eric Jackson is an adult stutter-er and a graduate student in theSpeech-LanguagePathology programat Brooklyn Collegein New York. As aGraduate Fellow inthe program, heteaches an under-graduate course inpublic speaking. Eric is also amusician in two Brooklyn-basedbands.

Podcast Continued from front page

Carolyn Gregory is interv iewed byEric Jackson.

The Stuttering Foundationjust published a new brochure

for teens.Stuttering: Myths,

Beliefs and StraightTalk is written byPeter Reitzes, M.A.,CCC-SLP, and GregSnyder, Ph.D.

In addition toaddressing issuesfacing teens anddebunking myths,

the brochure lists numerous re-sources, many of them new andavailable free on the Web.The brochure can be down-

loaded at www.stutteringhelp.org,click on “brochures” or call 800-992-9392 for information on ourprinted version. �

Hot Off the Press

has been 10 years since I attendedthe Northwestern workshop withHugo, June Campbell and DianeHill. It was incredibly valuable notonly in terms of treatment but also interms of networking with other clin-icians.”Joe Klein, who attended this

year’s Philly workshop, joked thatsince then he now knows every-thing there is to know. On a moreserious note, he added how muchhe valued his five workshop days.Lee Caggiano said, “It was

tremendous to be able to be at aworkshopwith Dr. David Lutermanand interact with him and withother clinicians! The workshops areaffordable, andyou get to see theworld’s best thera-pists doing therapylive.” In additionto her work as atherapist, Lee alsoheads up Friends:The Association ofYoung PeopleWhoStutter.Other podcasts

feature specialguests, such as workbook authorKristin Chmela, SFABoard mem-ber Dennis Drayna, CounselingDVD “star” David Luterman, andmany others.Listen to the podcasts online

at http://stuttertalk.com. �

ContactInformation:Web s i tes :http://stuttertalk .com andhttp://stutter101.comVo i cemai l :206-888-4619Emai l :[email protected]


The temperature in Chicago waschilly, but the StutteringFoundation booth wasbustling with warmth andactivity at the AmericanSpeech-Language–HearingAssociation Convention inmid-November. The newestitems were hot: Trouble atRecess flew off the shelf andsold out on the first day!Many were disappointed

to discover the 8 Tips forTeachers and 7 Tips forTalking with Your Child fly-ers had already disappearedby the second day of theconvention. Other items proving to bepopular were the old and the new: TheDVD Working with Preschoolers WhoStutter: Successful InterventionStrategies and Sharpening CounselingSkills with David Luterman, D.Ed.A record number of volunteers helped

staff the thirty-foot booth – 33! A specialthanks to Steffi Schopick, KaterinaNtourou,Willie Botterill, Frances Cook, PatriceCarothers, Robin Jones, Sheryl Gottwald,Joseph Donaher, Rita Thurman, VivianSisskin, Judy and Tom Kuster, JenniferWatson, Charlie Healey, Julie Gasway,Anthony Buhr, Ryan Pollard, James Panico,Glenn Weybright, Peter Reitzes, CharlieOsborne, Susan Cochrane, Bill Murphy,Lynne Shields, Kristin and Tom Chmela,Kim Krieger, Susan Short, Kathleen Scaler-Scott, Tom andMariaGurrister, DahyeChoiand Kristel Kubart.�Watch the video from the ASHA confer-ence at www.stutteringhelp.org. �

Renee Shepherd, Carol Ecke and TerriJones get the Stuttering Foundationbooth ready for the big rush.

Carol Ecke takes a pictureof the crowds waiting forthe exhibitors to open.

Charlie Osbornesits on 800pounds of SFAmaterials - allneeding to beunpacked.

Susan Cochrane,Vianne Bjornbergand Carolyn Gregory .

Carol Ecke, FrancesCook , Willie Botterill,and Charlie Osborne -The Setup Team.

Peter Reitzeshelps SLPsselect the per-fect resources.

Windy City HostsASHA 2008


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Setting up...

Traffic Was Hot!

Carol Ecke and TerriJones discuss a book

with an attendee.



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In the Nov. 3, 2008, issue ofNewsweek, the magazine writes,“Alan Rabinowitz, a long-time di-rector at the Wildlife ConservationSociety (WCS) in New York, istaking a new ap-proach to big catconservation. Notonly is he workingto bring back theworld’s vanishingtiger populations,he is establishingpassageways forthose populations to mix and pre-serve genetic diversity.“Two years ago, Rabinowitz part-

nered with philanthropist TomKaplan to form Panthera, a nonprof-it firm devoted to cat conservation.Their first objective is constructing‘genetic corridors,’ which will tra-verse wilderness and cultivated landalike to connect existing habitatsand allow individual cats to seeknew territory for prey and new pop-ulations for breeding. Think of theseas a kind of underground railroad fortigers: the conductors are the catsthemselves, and the endangeredcargo they bear is their genes.”

For the complete article, visit ourWeb site, www.stutteringhelp.org. �

SFA Spokesmanin the NewsStuttering: Its Nature

and Management byCourtney Stromsta,

Ph.D., is now available atwww.stutteringhelp.org.Click on “eBooks.”

Courtney Stromsta (1922-1995)was a profes-sor of Speechand HearingScience atW e s t e r nM i c h i g a nUniversity inKalamazoo,M i c h i g a nfrom 1968 to1987. Alongwith Dr.Charles VanRiper, heconductedresearch intothe problemof stuttering,looking forways to improve therapy.In 1986, he published

Elements of Stuttering which isnow available from theStuttering Foundation.

Several years after his death,his daughter Sveri asked hermother (Rose Stromsta) if therewas perhaps a briefcase thatSveri could have. They locatedone that had belonged toCourtney. Just as they werereaching for it, Sveri said toRose “what if there is a bookmanuscript in there?” and indeed

there was.This man-

uscript wasoriginallyedited byG o r d o nDe Youngof KeyPublishingServices in1994. It hasnot been re-edited formore con-temporaryvocabulary.The term“stutterer”while not

used as frequently now, was thenorm then, and has been retainedfor this edition.

~ Carroll Guitar �

Remembering Courtney Stromsta

Thirty-two adults with chronicstuttering were randomly allocatedto receive either speech restructur-ing (Prolonged Speech) followinga CBT package for social anxietyor speech restructuring alone. Datawere obtained on a variety ofspeech and psychological mea-sures at pre-treatment, post-CBT,post–speech restructuring, and 12months follow-up.Sixty percent of the cohort

were diagnosed with social pho-bia. Speech restructuring treat-ment alone had no impact on thesocial phobia of the cohort at 12months follow-up. At follow-up,

participants who had receivedCBT showed no social phobiaand greater improvements thancontrol participants on a range ofpsychological measures of anxi-ety and avoidance. However, theCBT package made no differenceto the speech outcomes of thosewith social phobia.Consequently, it was concluded

that the CBT treatment was asso-ciated with significant and sus-tained improvements in psycho-logical functioning but did not im-prove fluency.

This article is from the Journalof Speech, Language, andHearing Research Vol. 51 1451-1464 December 2008. It is based

on research by Ross G. Menzies,Sue O’Brian, Mark Onslow andAnn Packman of the AustralianStuttering Research Centre, TheUniversity of Sydney, Australia;Tamsen St Clare of The Universityof Sydney and Westmead Hospital,Sydney, Australia; and SusanBlock of La Trobe University,Melbourne, Australia.

Craig, A., Hancock, K., Tran, Y., & Craig,M. (2003). Anxiety levels in people who stut-ter: A randomized population study. Journalof Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,46, 1197–1206.

Hancock, K., & Craig, A. (1998). Predictorsof stuttering relapse one year following treat-ment for children aged 9 to 14 years. Journal ofFluency Disorders, 23, 31–48.

Kraaimaat, F. W., Janssen, P., &Vandambaggen,R. (1991). Social anxiety and stut-tering. Perceptual andMotor Skills, 72, 766. �

Clinical Trial Continued from front page


Media coverage of InternationalStuttering Awareness Day, October22, surpassed all expectations. SFAembarked on a Letter to the Editorcampaign sending letters to hun-dreds of media outlets and in turnmany newspapers printed the letter!Here are

a few ex-cerpts frome-mails re-ceived fromreaders:“My son

is 14 yearsold. Hes t u t t e r s ,and I wantto knowhow I canhelp him. Isit too late?New York“I am the

parent of a3-year oldboy. He juststarted hav-ing troublewith the be-ginning ofsentences.He has trou-ble startingthe wordand seemsto stay stuckon the initialsound anddrag it out.Any infor-m a t i o nwould begreatly appreciated.”

Rhode Island“Sir, I need self-therapy,

there are thousands like mehere ashamed of this disorder. Iwant to help myself and showright way to others so that theycan live a dignified life.”

India

“I have a 10-year old who stut-ters — also father, grandmother,and great-grandmother — anynew hope in last 50 years?”

Kentucky“I am a 37- year old and have

been dealing with this problem allof my life. Ihave hadno luckwith mystuttering. Ineed yourhelp.”

Florida“I havean inter-m i t t e n tstutter. Itcomes andg o e s .However, Iwork in anoffice envi-ronment ,and it isbecomingfrequentlya source ofe m b a r -rassment.”

Texas“I have afriend whohas stut-tered hor-ribly hiswhole life,and Iwould liketo get someinfo to seeif we can

help him.”Idaho

“I am both a parent and ateacher. I teach high school, butmy 3 year old daughter hasbeen stuttering for the last fivemonths and lately has been get-ting worse.”

Montana �


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International StutteringAwareness Day Breaks Record!

Jane Fraser holding a copy of theStuttering Foundation newsletterwith John Tarver on Oct. 8 at theWedgewood Golf Club.

Kirk and John Tarver andtheir Memphis-based ShelbyRailroad Services Inc. raiseda record $6,000 to help thosewho stutter. Jane Fraser wasin attendance to receive thisoutstanding gift along withPat Hamm, the OfficeManager of the StutteringFoundation.The annual Tin-Cup

Tournament took place on Oct.8 at Wedgewood Golf Club inOlive Branch, Miss.This is the seventh year the

company teamed up with theStuttering Foundation to honorRuth McGuiness Tarver, thelate mother of company presi-dent and founder John Tarver.Ruth stuttered from the timeshe was a young child.“She was a great lady,”

Shelby Railroad VicePresident Kirk Tarver said ofhis grandmother. “It didn’tmatter to us, but it embar-rassed her. Back in the ‘30s,there wasn’t any help.”“We are so grateful for the

dedicated friendship and sup-port the Tarvers and ShelbyRailroad have shown us,”Fraser said during the event. �

Shelby RailroadKeeps on Trackfor Stuttering



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Speech class is fun ��Dear SFA:I was 5 when I started noticing

that I was stuttering. Then when Igot older I kept getting madderand madder at my stuttering. Butwhen I was 5, I didn’t mind it‘cause I didn’t know how bad itwould be. Now I’m in 2nd grade.I’m getting used to my stutteringand I’m getting better. SometimesI still get mad at my mouth. By 6thgrade I hope I stop stuttering. Iwent to summer speech school andthat helped me a lot. We read andrecorded stories. It was F-U-N!My school speech teacher teachesme to relax my body. I get plusesfor the words I am fluent on. I saywords with 2- and 3-syllables, andI did it perfectly.CarterMinnesota

Technique helpsDear SFA:I am Edgard. I’m 10 years old

and in 5th grade. My hobbies arebeing with my family, playingwith my brothers, and playing

with my friends. I’ve been inspeech class for 2 years. However,that doesn’t bother me anymore.Ever since my speech teacher toldme that everyone stutters — evenshe does now and then — it makesme happy to be who I am.My teacher teaches me how to

use easy speech. Sometimes wehave homework for easy speech,and it helps me use my strategies.When I stutter, I stick out my

tongue, shake my head and say“ahhh.” When that happens I feelnervous, so I try to forget that ithappened and use easy speech tokeep talking. Easy speech is agreat technique because I talkmore fluently and now I’m OKwith my stuttering.EdgardOrlando, Fla.

Be proud of who you areDear SFA:My name is Maddy. I'm 10 years

old. I enjoy going to speech classbecause I want to learn and get bet-ter at my stuttering. My friends don'ttease me because we all know thatno one is perfect, but unfortunatelythere are people in the world whomake fun of other people. You haveto remember stuttering is okay andover 3 million people in Americastutter, so don't be ashamed. Beproud of who you are. Everyone isperfect in their own way. You can doeverything that you want to.Maddy, 10St. Charles, MO

Young author writes booksJosette, 10, from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been working on abook series titled “Stuttering Sara.” She is writing the se-ries in hopes of helping other children who stutter. In thefirst book, Sara was chosen for the lead in a school play.But she is scared to perform because she might stutter. Atfirst, Sara doesn’t even show up and the stage remainsempty! Sara finally decides she would rather perform thanquit the play and she comes up with an idea. She knows thatwhen she speaks in unison chorus with another person, ithelps alleviate her stuttering. So she enlists the help of afriend and together they successfully perform in front of thewhole school. The play is a big success and Sara is happyto have conquered her stage fright with a great solution.Josette is a student of Peter Reitzes, M.A., CCC-SLP.

A self-portrait of Carter.

An empty stage.

Send letters to SFA, P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN 38111-0749 or e-mail [email protected].

Dear SFA: Reader Response

Continued on page 9



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Tips for teasingDear SFA:I have gone through a lot of

things like kids picking on meand calling me names. The wayI deal with it is to not pay atten-tion to them and not listen tothem. Now I am 10 years oldand people don’t pick on me thatmuch because I’ve gotten betterat not stuttering.DesmondChicago

School, baseball are favoritesDear SFA:I am 9 years old. I like to play

baseball. I have been going tospeech for 6 years. My favoritesubjects are science and math. Ilike school. Stuttering is likesomebody hitting you in theface. I sometimes get worried,but I know its okay. I have twobrothers and one sister, and sheis so cute.TrippE-mail

Encouragement for othersDear SFA:My name is Cricynda (crih-

sin-dah ). I am 11 years old andin the 5th grade. I like to domany things, like swimming anddrawing. I’ve been in speechclass for two years. I feel okayabout my stuttering. I’ve beenlearning about one thing … Easyspeech! Easy speech is slowingdown when you’re talking. Weuse this very often. Our goal isto use it outside of class. Thankyou for reading my letter. I hopethis helps other kids know thatother people stutter as well.They are not the only ones. CricyndaOrlando, Fla.

Please include contact informa-tion and parent’s permission whensending children’s drawings andletters. You can e-mail them [email protected] or mailthem to P.O. Box 11749, Memphis,TN 38111-0749. �

World War II Veteran Shares JourneyDear Stuttering Foundation,After seeing an article for

your organization in the Journalof the American MedicalAssociation, I decided to sendyou this letter to hopefully helpothers who stutter today.First off, I have to brag a little.

Today, I no longer stutter as Ionce did. Giving speeches tobusiness or classroom groups isa pleasure for me. I have been aToastmaster president and wonmany speechcontests! I started off

in life as aNew YorkCity youngsterwho could notsay my ownname. Kidswould jeer me.I had zerofriends. I got into many fights andwas expelled, failing elementaryschool and not attending highschool.In 1943, the U.S. needed mer-

chant sailors in the war withJapan and Germany, so at age 16,my Dad signed me intoSheepshead Bay MerchantMarine School. Dad said I mightlearn a trade and off I went to seain the cold Atlantic.Disliking icy weather, I volun-

teered for engine room duty. Itwas warm but the job requiredyelling information above theengine noise to the watch engi-neer. I found that by yelling, Ididn’t stutter! No one can stutterwhen you yell or sing! I soonlearned to fake a hearing loss andtalk louder. I was so pleased tobe fluent, I talked to anyone whowould listen.I studied the engines and sys-

tems and learned fast since thiswas my first real “school.” Nostuttering and no laughing kids. Ipassed the required Coast Guardexams and advanced to betterjobs. The war-time sea duty will

always hold a special place inmy memory.In 1946, I joined the U.S.

Army Air Corp and became anaircraft mechanic. I then passedexams to become a flight engi-neer on B29s. Because I liked totalk they made me a classroomand “hands on” flight instructor.This duty lasted for 21 years.One week after retiring in

1967 I was hired by DouglasAircraft Company to teach sys-

tems to air-line pilots andflight engi-neers. Now itwas all jet air-craft (DC8,DC9 andDC10), but Ilearned fastand became atop classroom

instructor. After another 21years, I again retired.I took two subsequent jobs,

one as a DC10 pilot instructorat Continental Airlines, andone as a certified teacher of anaviation course at the LongBeach City College. My abilityto talk as a teacher, instructor,Toastmaster, and everyday per-son makes me feel very good.Education is never-ending. Iam also a self-taught cartoonistand often go on cruise ships toentertain people with my art. Istarted to draw because mywriting was terrible. I can“draw” in any language!Today, I am 81 years old, re-

tired three times, married 61years to the same lady, and amin relatively good health exceptfor profound hearing loss. Stuttering can be overcome!

Find your way, the sooner thebetter. I do hope this letter andmy story serves someone somevalue.Respectfully yours, James WalkerLakewood, CA �


By Joseph LukongSecretary & Board Member ofthe International StutteringAssociation Coordinator Generalof Speak Clear Association ofCameroon

The International StutteringAssociation (ISA) and StutteringAssociation of Burkina Faso(Action Contre Le Bégaiement -ABC) organized and sponsored theSecond African Conference onStuttering in OuagadougouBurkina Faso during October 27th– 30th. The conference exploredStuttering In Africa: Strategies forEffective Reawakening.The opening ceremony took place

at the auditorium of the BurkinabeShippers Council (ConseilBurkinabe des Chargeurs) and waschaired by the Representative of theMinister of State in Charge of

F o r e i g nAffairs andR e g i o n a lIntegration ofBurkina FasS p e e c h e swere madeby Dr.Moussa Dao,ConferenceC o n v e n o rand Presidentof the ActionContre LeBegaiement;T h o m a sK r a l l ,Coordinatorof the Boardof Directors,p r e s e n t e dB e n n yR a v i d ’ sspeech as

ISA Chairman Ravid was unable toattend. All the major newspapers,television and radio stations inBurkina Faso were present and car-ried the story of the conference.The twenty-one presentations

were made by leading members of

the international self-help move-ment for people who stutter,renowned speech language patholo-gists, researchers, and leaders of ex-isting national stuttering associa-tions in Africa. Fourteen African del-egates recounted their personal ex-periences as people who stutter andwhat the situation is for those whostutter in their respective countries.The following resolutions were

made …

• The need for collaborationamong African stuttering associa-tions to share information on selfhelp issues, treatment and researchin stuttering with each other.• The creation of a Federation of

African Stuttering Associations. Aprovisional committee of threepersons was formed: Moussa Daofrom Burkina Faso, JosephLukong from Cameroon and ZanCamera from Mali.• Emphasis on the need for

training of African speech pathol-ogists who specialize in stuttering. - Advocacy efforts to be made to-ward African governments in viewof recognizing stuttering as a com-munication disorder and for it to begiven due attention.• The ISA and other internation-

al bodies should offer financialand other assistance to youngAfrican associations to enablethem to take off and work for PWSin their respective countries.• The wish to continue hosting

African conferences on stutteringfor African PWS to meet and learnfrom each other. To this effect, itwas resolved that the next Africanconference will take place inKenya, East Africa in 2011.

• A million thanks to theInternational Stuttering Associationand the Stuttering Association ofBurkina Faso for organizing andsponsoring this conference.The Representative of the Minister

in charge of Basic (Primary)Education of Burkina Faso presid-ed over the closing ceremonypromising that much attentionwould be given by her ministerialdepartment to stuttering inBurkina Faso. Certificates of honor were givento people and organizations inBurkina Faso to Anne MarieSimon from France to the ISA rep-resentative, Joseph Lukong, forthe ISA’s support of conferenceson stuttering in Africa. �


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The Second African Conference on Stuttering

World EventApproximately230 delegates at-tended the confer-ence with 60 dele-gates fromBurkina Faso.Other countriesrepresented wereMali, Niger,Nigeria, Senegal,Mauritania, CoteD’Ivoire ( IvoryCoast), Ghana,Togo, Benin,Chad, DR Congo,Burundi, Rwanda,Kenya,Cameroon,Germany, France,the United Statesof America,Lithuania, and theUnited Kingdom.

Attendees at the conference.

Anne Marie and Dr. Moussa Daodiscuss stuttering on liv e TV.

Blind childrenplay musicalinstrumentsduring theclosing ceremony .

After the conference, AnneMarie Simon works with aperson who stutters.

Moussa Dao, president ofthe Burk ina Stutterers’Association. �

Media outlets covered

the event.�

Traditionalclothing anddancing.



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While Jack Paar is among themost prominent of the entertain-ers on the StutteringFoundation’s list of FamousPeople Who Stutter, he deservesspecial recognition as he wasamong the first to openly addresshis stuttering in public. As host of“The Tonight Show” from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficultiesas a stuttering child and teenager,giving hope to young people.Born in 1918, Paar stuttered

from an early age and faced thetypical problems of a child whostutters. He described his stutter-ing in his 1959 autobiography, IKid You Not. “I didn’t mix muchwith the other children growingup. It seems strange to me now,when I make my living talking,mostly without written material orrehearsal, but I stuttered badly as achild. This made me ill at ease inschool and with other children.“Like many youngsters who

stammer, I lived a great deal in theworld of imagination and books.One day I read aboutDemosthenes, the great Greek or-ator, who had cured himself ofstammering by putting pebbles inhis mouth and declaiming overthe roar of the sea. Since we wereliving in Michigan, with no seahandy, I made the best I could do.Instead of pebbles, I used buttonsfrom my mother’s sewing box.And with no sea shore nearer thana thousand miles, I used my roomat home. Then I would stuff somebuttons in my mouth and practicespeaking. I read papers and maga-zines. I talked about anything thatcame into my head. I read books,watching myself in the mirror.Apart from once nearly swallow-ing a shirt button in a burst of ora-torical fervor, the system workedvery well. Little by little myspeech improved.”At age 14 Paar was bedridden

with tuberculosis for several

months. During this time, the futuretelevision legend became obsessedwith radio, constantly fantasizingabout overcoming his stutteringand becoming a radio star. Everyday he hosted “make believe” radioshows in which he was the star.

Paar left school at age 16 towork full-time for a radio station.At first the station only let him an-nounce the words “This is StationWIBM, Jackson”. Other tasks in-cluded sweeping the floor andemptying the waste baskets. In hisautobiography, he wrote, “Theywouldn’t let me do commercialsbecause I stuttered, and the stationwas so small you could walk outof its coverage area by going downthe street for a cup of coffee, but Iwas a real live radio announcer.”Eventually the station let him

spin records and do a few commer-cials; though he still stuttered onthe commercials, the sponsors ac-tually received a bit more airtimebecause of it and did not seem tomind. Making radio his life’s goal,his speech greatly improved on theair; and he was finally able to dothe news and interviews, develop-ing the “hemming and hawing”style that became his trademark. After service in World War II,

Paar tried his luck at acting and

was in several B-movies. He co-starred in the 1951 movie “LoveNest,” with another newcomer,Marilyn Monroe; ironicallyMarilyn Monroe also struggledwith stuttering.Paar then turned to television,

hosting quiz shows and gameshows. In 1954, he became the co-host of CBS’ “Morning Show”and in 1957 received the definingrole of his career, taking over thereins of “The Tonight Show” onNBC from Steve Allen.Paar made “The Tonight Show”

a staple of American culture.Writing in the New York Times in1997, critic John O’Connor put itbest: “Before Jack Paar, there werevarious variety shows doing themidnight watch. He simplified theformat into a talk show, completewith the sofa–and-desk set that re-mains a fixture. His secret?Interesting guests, far more so thanthe celebrity hordes working onproduct plugs today, and an uncan-ny ability to listen carefully and ac-tually engage in clever and oftenwitty conversation.” Fans were shocked and sad-

dened with his leaving “TheTonight Show” in 1962. Retiringearly to a secluded life, Jack Paardid the occasional network special.One special, “Jack Paar ComesHome” aired in 1986, and featuredPaar talking about his past stutter-ing problem and how he never gaveup trying; urging people with chal-lenges to strive for their dreams andnot listen to the nay-sayers. Jack Paar died on January 27,

2004. Younger generations maynot be familiar with him. He notonly created the late night talkshow format that has been copiedby his “Tonight Show” successorsJohnny Carson and Jay Leno aswell as so many others, but he con-tinues to give hope and inspiration,as well as a sense of pride to thestuttering community. �

Steve Allen, Bob Hope and Jack Paar.

I Kid You Not! Paar is an Inspiration to Others


Bravo to the Rileysfor starting the 2-dayevent in Fullertonand kudos to GaryMontooth, SherriWolff and the localNSSLHA Chapterfor keeping it alive.

ASHA SchoolConference inOrlando reach-es hundreds ofschool-basedSLPs too!


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The Stuttering Foundation in 2009will release a new DVD, Tools forSuccess, a “taster” on cognitive be-havior therapy and how it may beused in stuttering therapy. �

Tools for Success!

Videographer Bob O’Brien filmsFrances Cook and Willie Botterill inNovember at the ASHA Conventionin Chicago.

Reaching Out to School-based therapists!

Carol Ecke atthe booth.

All the SFA resources on display .

Dav id Daly andWalter Manninghold their awards.

Sherri Wolff and Drs. Jeannaand Glyndon Riley .

Renee Shepherd and Carol Eckeanswer questions.

Carol Ecke discussesan SFA DVD withEllen Estomin, the di-rector of special educa-tion for the PittsburghSchools, and WendyWingard-Gay.

Jane Fraser, Matt Murphy , KatherinePreston and Bob Wellington after theirinterv iews on December 14th.

Katherine Preston is travelingthe United States, interviewingpeople who stutter and gatheringinformation for her book.“The book will be a compila-

tion of interviews with peoplewho stutter around America. Itwill be aimed at debunking themyths that many ‘fluent’ peoplehave about stuttering and stopstuttering from being such a taboosubject. The stutterers I am talk-ing to are different ages and havevarying backgrounds and person-alities,” shares Katherine.She has already interviewed 35

people from all walks of life.Some are well known like JackWelch of GE, conservationist AlanRabinowitz, and geneticist DennisDrayna and others are not so fa-mous but just as important to her.Katherine adds, “I would be

very interested in hearing fromanyone who would like to be in-terviewed. My email address [email protected].”

Katherineʼs Myths

October 10-11, 2008: Two-day conference at Cal. State - Fullerton

July 2008

Public service ads have appearedin many magazines this year – ev-erything from Good Housekeepingand Newsweek to TheNational Hog Farmer!

Delta Sky Magazine,which reaches millionsof travelers eachmonth, has donatedspace for PSAs severaltimes this year. If youspot a PSA, be sure tothank the magazine fordonating space to charity. Their gen-erosity is making a difference.

Ads Strike a Chord


QWhat inspired you to be-come a rap artist?

AI wasn’t able to expressmyself any other way at the

time and found joy and greatsatisfaction in doingsomething well, vocally.Performances are amaz-ing! Being on stage,under the lights, doingmy thing is probably theonly time I feel like a freespirit where thoughtsdon’t control me; myspirit and heart do.

QIs there any specificchildhood memory that

stands out regarding yourspeech?

AOne story that sticks in myhead was auditioning for a

school play. I had to walk up onstage, in front of a cafeteria fullof classmates and first say myfull name, followed by the songI was going to sing for the play.When my turn came up, ofcourse I was nervous and unde-niably expecting to stutter, but asI was waiting in line for my turnto speak I tried to focus andblock those thoughts out. Sureenough as the pressure I washolding back came thunderingin, I couldn’t even say my firstname, only the first letter of myname about a thousand times.And to make it worse, the in-structor had thought the mic wasturned off or not working prop-erly, so he instructed me to say"mic check" and when I couldn’tsay that, I desperately resorted totapping the mic head to showhim the mic was in fact working.But I guess I wasn’t supposed todo that, he yelled at me prettybad for that move!

QWhat is your greatest obstacle,and how do you deal with it?

AMy greatest obstacle is tonot focus on trying not to

stutter, but speak freely and learnto control my speech as I goalong. Lately I've been doingrather well on this, but when alleyes are on me I tend to be as

choppy as the sea belowthe storm and my controlgoes out the window. I’mlearning to block all dis-tractions out though andjust try to focus on thesubject I’m speaking on.

QWhat is your biggestdream?

AYou always dreamabout that big break,

that hit single, followed by yourprize work of an album and justmaking a living doing what I loveto do. If you would have askedme this a couple years ago, Iprobably would have said tospeak fluently and not stutter. ButI’ve realized I will never speakperfectly nor can anyone else. Ishouldn't take it so seriously, butjust live and have faith in myselfthat I can do what I want to doand in turn say what I want to say.

QIf you could give a simplemessage to teenagers who

stutter, what would it be?

ARunning away is not the an-swer. Hiding from the prob-

lem and letting frustration andanger build up inside will onlyhurt you more. Building confi-dence the is key in learning tocope with your stutter. Find outwhat it is you like to do and makesyou feel worth something morethan your stutter. Soon you’llhave left your negative stutteringthoughts and judgments far be-hind, and you’ll be on your way toa future of your own choosing.

If you would like to hearKruck’s music, visit www.myspace.com/dapoetking. �


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Hip Hop Rap Artist Finds His VoiceInterview with Travis Kruck

Trav is Kruck

The Stuttering Foundation ofAmerica is a tax-exempt or-

ganization under section501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code and is classified as a private oper-ating foundation as defined in section4942(j)(3). Charitable contributions andbequests to the Foundation are tax-deductible, subject to limitations underthe Code.

The Stuttering Foundation an-nounces that it will recognize jour-nalists for the thir-teenth consecutiveyear for excellence inreporting that fur-thers the understand-ing of this complex disorder.“We are happy to announce

these awards to further publicawareness of stuttering,” saidJane Fraser. “Media coveragehas grown substantially in vol-ume and sensitivity in recentyears. We want to continue rec-ognizing outstanding reporters.”The seventeenth annual

Stuttering Foundation Awardswill be given to journalists in twocategories: print and electronicmedia. They will recognize newsstories over the last year that:• Advanced the public’s un-

derstanding of stuttering;• Introduced information on

stuttering to a significant newaudience.Print and electronic journalists

are invited to submit copies orDVDs of their news items to theStuttering Foundation, 3100Walnut Grove Road, Suite 603,P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN38111-0749. All entries must havebeen published or aired betweenJan. 1, 2008, and April 20, 2009.In addition to a public an-

nouncement of the Award recip-ients, each honoree will receivea cash award of $250.00 fromthe Foundation. �

17th Annual MediaAwards Competition


3100 Walnut Grove Road, Suite 603P.O. Box 11749 • Memphis, TN 38111-0749

STUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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Happy new year from... Renee Shepherd, Joan Warner, RobertaBrugge, Terri Jones, Lisa Hinton,Anne Edwards, Jane Fraser and PatHamm, Susie Hall, Patty Reed, ScotSquires, John Bell and Carol Ecke.

The Eastern Workshop:Diagnosis and Treatment ofPreschool and School-AgeChildren Who StutterJune 10-14, 2009

at Boston UniversitySpeakers include Diane Parris, M.S.,Boston University; Edward G.

Conture, Ph.D.,V a n d e r b i l tUniversity; Sheryl

Gottwald, Ph.D., University of NewHampshire; and Adriana DiGrande,M.A., Boston University.The Midwestern Workshop:Diagnosis and Treatment ofChildren Who StutterJune 22-26, 2009

at the University of IowaSpeakers include Patricia M.Zebrowski, Ph.D.,University of Iowa;Toni Cilek, M.A.,University of Iowa;and Lisa Scott,Ph.D., Florida State University.

The Western Workshop: Diagnosis and Treatment ofChildren Who StutterJuly 15-19, 2009

at Portland State UniversityDirected by Susan Hamilton, M.A.,University Way Speech Services;

Jennifer Watson, Ph.D., TexasChristian University;and Ellen Reuler,M.A., Portland StateUniversity.Fellowships cover tuition, room

and board, and CEUs are avail-able. Download application atwww.stutteringhelp.org or call800-992-9392.The Sixth IFA World Congress

on Fluency Disorders will be heldAugust 5 – 8, 2009 atthe Veiga de AlmeidaUniversity located inRio de Janeiro, Brazil.For more information,visit www.theifa.org.

The 9th World Congress ofthe International StutteringAssociation will be August 1st -7th, 2010 in Beijing, China. For an overview of the theme - Benefit the PeopleWho Stutter, Benefitthe Society, and a listof speakers, as well as fees, vis-itwww.bj2010isc.cn/index.ph.

This newsletter is published quarterly. Pleasee-mail address changes and story ideas [email protected].

Volume18, Issue 1Renee Shepherd . . . . . . . . . . . . . EditorScot Squires . . . . . . . . . . Writer/DesignerSpecial thanks to Joan Warner, Patty Reed,Susie Hall, Pat Hamm, Lisa Hinton, TerriJones, and Carol Ecke.

Newsbriefs

You can donate to theStuttering Foundationdirectly through theUnited Way.

Chinese celebrate 2008 InternationalStuttering Awareness Day .

winter_2009.qx7:newsletter 1/2/09 9:43 AM Page 16

winter2009newsletter

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