UMaine Workshop on Stuttering Planned Feb. 12
Contact: Nancy Hall, (207) 581-2404, Marybeth Allen, (207) 581-2403 or George Manlove, (207) 581-3756
ORONO — The UMaine Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is inviting parents, children, teens and speech-language pathologists to a workshop Feb. 12 on stuttering and strategies for overcoming stuttering.
A series of discussions scheduled throughout the day at the Memorial Union on the Orono campus will explore new therapy strategies, the most recent scientific explanations for what causes stuttering and also brings together young people who stutter to share experiences.
The workshop, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., is jointly sponsored the University of Maine and its Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the National Stuttering Association and the UMaine Chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association.
“Our goal is to provide education and support to parents, speech language pathologists and people who stutter, and also to create an environment where children and teens who stutter can meet other people who stutter,” says Nancy Hall, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “Children who stutter often feel like they are alone with their disorder.”
Hall, who holds American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Specialty Recognition to treat people who stutter and teaches a graduate course at UMaine in fluency disorders, is one of three workshop leaders.
Others are Judy Butler of Franklin, Mass. and Marybeth Allen. Butler, like Hall, also holds ASHA Specialty Recognition in Fluency Disorders, and works with children and adolescents in private practice. Allen, a clinical educator at the UMaine Stuttering Clinic, also holds ASHA Specialty Recognition in Fluency Disorders and leads the Eastern Maine Chapter of the National Stuttering Association and Fluency Discussion Group — Maine. Allen is a person who stutters and maintains a private practice treating people who stutter.
According to the National Stuttering Association, the largest self-help organization for people who stutter, a quarter of children who stutter do not outgrow it, and the disorder often is misunderstood by teachers, counselors and even pediatricians. Some parents are advised to defer speech therapy until it’s too late to overcome stuttering, Hall says.
Speech language pathologists often can identify children at risk for chronic stuttering at an early age and, with appropriate intervention, the children can go on to become fluent communicators, Hall says. Some notable people who overcame stuttering include actor James Earl Jones, newscaster John Stossel and nurse Clara Barton.
Supporting a child’s self-esteem and confidence is a major component of therapeutic intervention, according to Hall. The workshop Feb. 12 will address that, in addition to the importance of parents and speech therapists’ role in therapy programs.
Parents and speech pathologists will have an opportunity to share information and hear speakers discuss diagnosis and intervention for stuttering, in addition to learning about resources and other issues surrounding raising a child who stutters.
Children, Hall says, will be grouped by age and can learn from one another about successful therapies and participate in self-affirming activities.
“This is really a wonderful opportunity for a broad spectrum of people with wide-ranging skills, education and experiences to come together and share their expertise,” Hall says.
The cost of the workshop is $10 for families and $20 for speech-language pathologists. More information is available by calling Marybeth Allen at (207) 581-2403 or Nancy Hall at (207) 581-2404, or by visiting the Communication Sciences and Disorders website.