MAY | JUNE 2010

119 W. 40th Street, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10018 • 800.WeStutter (937.8888) • 212.944.4050 • email: info@WeStutter.org • www.WeStutter.org

Thank You, Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Snapshot: David Blazina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

NSA Named Special Recipient . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Odds & Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Members Speak Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

NSA Conference Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SLPs, Get Your CEUs Online Now . . . . . . . . . 8

conference schedule on page 7

Acceptance is a frequentlydiscussed concept bythose affected by stutter-ing. Because it is anabstract and oftenvery personal conceptdiscussions can bring

out strong emotions and opinions. Somehave suggested that accepting one’s stutter-ing is tantamount to giving up or givingin and thus decide to remain locked in aworld of fear and limited opportunity.Others have stated that acceptance meansthat it’s not only OK to stutter but thatstuttering could and indeed should beworn (or spoken) like a badge of honor.Still others believe that acceptance is anecessary first step for change to occur.

Through my own journey with stutteringI have come to believe that acceptanceis reaching a state of mind in which weacknowledge both externally and internallythat our inability to speak with the spon-taneity and fluidity of others is real but isnot our or anyone else’s fault; that whilestuttering is part of who we are it does notdefine or limit us.

The concept of acceptance does notmean that we are destined to remain ator even be satisfied with the condition in

which we find ourselves. It does mean,however, that we have reached a pointwhere we can make clear decisions onour own behalf without the baggageof the past holding us back or theblind optimism of the future jadingour expectations for “perfect” speech.The decision to change the way wespeak requires personal risk and willbe met with both success and failure.However, with a foundation of acceptance,success is more sustainable and failureis less destructive.

Simply put, we cannot change theway we speak for any appreciable periodof time until we become comfortablewith the idea that we are more than ourstuttering and that we alone have thepower to determine what to do aboutit. Accepting stuttering does not meangiving up. It is not the end but rather,the beginning! �

Lee is a successful veterinarian in Plano,Texas. He founded one of the first localstuttering support groups and served aschairman of the NSA. He remains extremelyactive at the local level and is happily mar-ried to Nina Reeves, whom he met throughthe NSA.

NSA All-Star PanelNSA’s keynote speeches are just one of thehighlights of the annual conference. TheNSA has been honored to host a numberof high profile individuals. We relate to thesewonderful presentations as they unveilthe journey with stuttering, with manystops along the way toward acceptanceand success.

This year, the NSA is proud to feature ourown! NSA members will talk about where theyare on their journey with stuttering. Adultswho stutter, speech-language pathologistswho stutter, kids and teens who stutter, andparents of those who stutter will share theirsuccesses, challenges, and how they handleevery day stuttering. Attendees will have theopportunity ask the panel questions duringthis general session.

Reasons Not To Missthe ConferenceHere’s a glimpse of some of the workshopsand events that will be offered this year atthe annual conference. Please note theseare not all of the workshops and workshoppresenters being offered. We hope to seeyou in Cleveland, Ohio, July 7–11.

AcceptanceBY LEE REEVES

Stuttering doesn’t stop Lee Reeves! Many people who stutter are great communicators,are in the public eye, give presentations to large audiences, and can inspireyou to achieve more. Lee is all of these and has been a frequent speaker on thesubject of stuttering at meetings for speech-language pathologists and others.

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Here’s a chance to get to know DavidBlazina, our assistant editor who managesand edits the Odds & Ends column forLETTING GO. Below he shares some infor-mation about himself.

I grew up on the southwest side ofChicago and have always lived eitherin the city or the surrounding suburbs.The onset of my stuttering was later thanmost – I was about 9 years old. While theschools I attended did not provide anyhelp in terms of speech therapy, my teach-ers were usually patient and I do not recalltoo many instances of them finishing mywords or discouraging me from participat-ing in discussions. My classmates and thegeneral public, however, were not alwaysso polite.

My parents were active in seeking treat-ment for me, and I did see a few differentspeech pathologists. None of them, atleast in my case, proved to be particularlyeffective. They also discovered what mayhave been the only support group at thetime, the National Stuttering Project (nowthe NSA), and I began receiving their mail-ings and newsletters.

It was not until I was in my late 20sthat a speech pathologist, Kristin Chmela,taught me fluency shaping techniques suchas easy onset and phrasing that allowedme to stutter with less tension and fewerblocks. She also helped me to overcomebad habits such as word substitution andtalking on residual air. I think I wouldhave been able to more effectively incorpo-rate these techniques into my speech hadI learned them as a child. This likely wouldhave resulted in fewer difficulties with myspeech throughout childhood, adolescence,and adulthood.

The Joys of JobsIn high school, much to the surpriseof my family, I took a job in a mall asa salesman in a men's clothing store.Looking back I guess I am a little surprisedI did it, too. While I have always beenvery self-conscious about my speech Itend to be personable and enjoy talkingto and joking around with people, andbeing a salesman gave me plenty ofopportunities to do that. I became anassistant manager which not only meant

that I was given thekeys to the store butalso that fellow employ-ees could point to mewhen irate customers demanded to speakto a manager. The store had an ill-con-ceived “No Cash Refunds” policy, andyou can imagine how well that went overwith an already dissatisfied customer. Itwas always a real treat to deal with anincreasingly red-faced shopper as Iexplained our policy to them andwatched them grow ever closer to yellingat me. This often resulted in stressful,anxiety-ridden speaking situations.

Toward the end of college and immedi-ately afterward I started to become awareof how my speech could negatively affectmy ability to get a job. That was beforethe Internet Age at a time when yourfirst contact with an employer was viatelephone. Today a prospective employercan receive your cover letter and resumevia e-mail and be familiar with youreducational background, career experi-ence, and what you can offer them as anemployee before they talk to or meet you.Back then, as I said, the first impressionyou made was often over the phone, andas many people who stutter are awarethat does not always go very well. Afterholding a variety of jobs I am currentlyemployed as an editor for an educationalsoftware company and enjoy workingin publishing.

Lately I have been, with significanthelp from my brother, remodeling myplace – replacing doors and lighting,tiling, painting, and refinishing whatI can – fun stuff like that. Doing thework yourself can be satisfying, especiallywhen it turns out well – and so far Ithink it has.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did notmention that I have a chocolate lab namedArkansas who never met a table scrap hedid not like or a rabbit he did not wantto chase, and a cat named Floyd who,for no discernible reason, often decidesthat he immediately needs to be in adifferent room. �

A HUGE thank you to the followingvolunteers who have assisted us recentlywith various projects: writing fornewsletters and Web site, redesigningand proofreading NSA brochures, keep-ing up with NSA’s Facebook and Twitteraccounts, and audio-video projects.

Jeffrey Gibellinawas born and raised inthe Chicagoland area.After graduating fromMarquette Universityin 2006, he now worksin the marketing

department of a national educationpublisher on the north side of Chicago.Behnaz Abolmaali is a person who

stutters. She graduated from theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 2008and is a writer living in Austin wholeads the NSA Austin chapter.Alexa Jaworski is a volunteer writer

and Web editor for the NSA. She livesin New York City and works as a busi-ness journalist.

Mike Bauer wasborn and raised inPittsburgh. For thelast 4 years he hasworked for the OrlandoMagic BroadcastingDepartment as a

producer/videographer/editor. Hepreviously worked for Walt DisneyWorld Entertainment for 7 years andfilmed Motorcross and Supercrossraces for ESPN2. Mike has beeninvolved with the NSA support groupin Orlando, Florida, for the last 4 yearsand became co-chapter leader in 2009.He has attended two NSA conferences.

Mike’s married and has 5-year-old-twins. He loves spending time aroundthe water, working out, going tosporting events, and spending timewith his family.Stephanie Pace Smith is a graduate

from the University of California,Berkeley and is a person who stutters.She is an ABA therapist who avidlyvolunteers her time with the NSA’s newsteam. She and her husband Rob livein Boston, Massachusetts, where theyboth enjoy as much sun as they can get!

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CHANGING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO STUTTER 3

AUSTIN, TEXASChapter Leader Behnaz Abolmaaliwrites that the Austin, Texas chapter isdoing very well. In March members metat Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza. Thiswas a more casual setting a few blocksaway from their normal meeting placeat the University of Texas. Eight peopleattended. Tony, who had recently joinedthe group, led a discussion on how stut-tering had negatively or positivelyaffected their communication abilities.Group members discussed how fluencyand communications are two separateconcepts and that they could reach alevel of success in managing their stut-tering to become effective communica-tors and leaders.

BOSTON-NORTH, MASSACHUSETTSThe Boston-North chapter met on April1. Brion Berghaus reports that theirmeeting was great, with seven peoplein attendance. During the introductionsand welcoming words, people talkedabout issues in their lives such as flood-ing stories, tutoring, and layoffs. Thefolks at the meeting were asked togive impromptu speeches. Each of thespeeches was about two minutes long.Some of the topics included the recentflooding in the Boston area, recurringdreams, fashions, peoples’ hometowns,life lessons, and favorite holidays. BobRochefort, the New England chaptercoordinator, attended the meeting, andgroup members were very happy he came.

CENTRAL NEW JERSEYEleven people turned out for theCentral New Jersey meeting. Therewere eight people who stutter, includingone new attendee, and three graduatestudents in the field of speech pathology.At the beginning of the meeting, ChapterLeader Hannah Laday had everyoneintroduce themselves and share some-thing new that they had experienced.They then broke into two groups soeveryone had a chance to talk aboutchallenges they face. Some of the dia-logue was about expanding comfortzones, finding inspiration from othermembers at the NSA meetings, and self-

acceptance as a foundation for beingwilling to test new comfort zones. Thechapter has a member who is 78 yearsold. She joined the group about 18months ago. At the end of the meet-ing, she emphatically announced, “Itake inspiration from all of you,and I want to work on expanding mycomfort zones.”

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY –NORMAL, ILLINOISJean Sawyer reports that their April 8meeting was attended by two groupleaders, one undergraduate student inspeech pathology, and three peoplewho stutter, which included one first-timer. The three people who stuttershared stories. Topics discussed includedtherapy, and two members talkedabout how they wished they weremore dysfluent around their speechtherapists so there would be more towork on. They also talked about dat-ing, ordering food at restaurants, andlisteners who seem to bring out morestuttering.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIAThere were nine people at the Aprilmeeting, including eight people whostutter and one speech-languagepathology student. Two persons at themeeting were first-timers. One memberwanted to speak eloquently, withoutfear and nervousness. It was pointedout that many public (and fluent)speakers report that they don’t feelcomfortable and fearless when speakingin public. One of the attendees alsosaid that some amount of fear meansthat they are concerned about per-formance. The group then had multipleinteresting discussion including correla-tions between age and the ability tomanage stuttering, eye contact, andthe “time warp” feeling during a stut-tering block. They also discussed theability of some people who stutter toput on a “game face” during tougherspeaking situations as well as how tobetter manage tougher situations. Themeeting ended with a discussion aboutreading versus spontaneous speech.

NSA NamedSpecial Recipient

CHAPTERNEWSFROM BONNIE WEISS

Gary Benjoya, vice president ofSpecial Kids Network in Chicago,says that the NSA has been selectedas a “Special Recipient” of their 11thAnnual Celebrity Golf Tournament.The charity organization raises fundsfor children with special needs. Theevent will be held August 2, 2010,in Chicago.

“I am very excited to have theNSA be a part of our charity this yearas [its mission] touches me personal-ly,” Gary says. “Our family becameaware of NSA through Nina Reeveswhen my son Corey used to go toNina for speech therapy. Nina initial-ly directed us to the NSA Web site toreview materials, and then we wentto the NSA national conference thatwas in Chicago a few years ago. Itwas at the conference where wereally gained an understanding asto how stuttering impacts familiesin different ways. While Corey is avery outgoing 14-year-old boy whodoes not have an ounce of shynessin his body, and is probably one ofthe more talkative kids of all hisfriends and hockey teammates,stuttering still impacts him in hisday to day life. The conference reallytouched us.

“I am very thankful that Ninaintroduced my family to the NSAand that in some way I have beenable to give back to the NSA finan-cially through the Special KidsNetwork (specialkidsnetwork.org).I am also thankful for the help thatSpecial Kids Network gets fromTammy [Flores] and Nina every summerat our Annual Celebrity Golf andTennis Outing. Their hard workand tremendous dedication do notgo unnoticed.”

If you would like to be a partof this golf tournament, pleasecontact NSA Executive DirectorTammy Flores at 800-364-1677 orinfo@westutter.org.

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ODDS&ENDSFROM DAVID BLAZINA

Annie BradberryOn Monday, March 2, long time NSAmember Annie Bradberry spoke tothe graduate class at Loma LindaUniversity in her home state ofCalifornia. A former NSA executivedirector, Annie has been visiting LomaLinda University for more than 18years where she is given the class forthat day to share her life experiences,talk about the benefits of NSAresources, and answer questions.

Loma Linda student Caiti McCullochwas quick to pick up a NSA button andproudly wear it on her school backpack.

Wisconsin ASHAConventionBob Lee, Gloria Klumb, and AnnMikkelson attended the WisconsinSpeech-Language-Hearing Association(WSHA) meeting in Oshkosh, WIfrom February 24–26. Bob submittedthe following report:

We worked at the exhibitor boothfor the NSA. This was a great opportu-nity for Gloria and I to spend the timewith speech-language pathologists(SLPs) and teachers from all over thestate. We were able to provide NSAhandouts to SLPs about kids, teens,and adults who stutter and givethem information about the NSAthat explains what our organizationdoes for people who stutter. Moreimportantly, we were able to interactwith the SLPs about our feelings andthoughts about stuttering in generaland what has helped us with our ownspeech. I think this was very beneficialfor both of us.

On Thursday morning Gloria wastaking the elevator to the meeting areaand a person getting on the elevatorstarting talking to her. He was ThomasKehoe, a person who stutters andan employee of Casa Futura TechCompany, which makes delayed audiofeedback (DAF) devices for people whostutter. When he was finished talking Itold him my name and that I was withthe National Stuttering Association.It almost felt like an NSA conference.

Later, Thomas and I were able totalk, and he explained more about thedevices. He told me that the deviceshould not be worn all the time. Youshould only use it when you need it,and the hope is that over time thefeeling of fluency will carry over to allof your speaking situations. He alsosaid they now have a wireless devicethat works with Bluetooth.

We also were able to talk with theSpeech Easy (SE) people. They have anew model they are marketing. In thepast it was said that the SE blocked thehearing of the user. The new model hasa small hole in it so you can hear in theear that it's in. We were able to try itbut found the background noise wastoo loud.

I attended a workshop calledEssential Speech Skills for School AgeChildren Who Stutter. The session wastaught by Mark Allen from the Centerfor Stuttering Therapy. Erin Dyer hadrecommended Mark to the WSHA as aspeaker to discuss stuttering therapy.

Mark presented a number of stut-tering modification strategies includingcatching the stutter, relaxing the stut-ter, slide with your stutter, and easystuttering. The last part of the sessionwas fluency enhancing strategies.These included relaxing breath, easyvoice, smooth movement, and lightcontact. Mark showed video clipsthroughout his presentation whichgreatly enhanced the learning experi-ence for the audience.

By working an NSA booth we foundout that not all of the SLPs knewabout the NSA chapters. I am glad Iprinted out the sheets that listed allthe information on the three chaptersin Wisconsin. Some SLPs took extracopies so they could hand them outto parents and clients.

The highlight of the conference wasGloria receiving the OutstandingService Award.

Gloria and I are looking forward toattending the 2011 WSHA conferenceand are also looking into havinga booth at the teachers’ conventionin October.

Wedding BellsThe NSA would like to congratulate theco-leader of the Roseville/Sacramentochapter, Stephanie Lopez, on her Aprilwedding to fiancé Spencer Fjelstrom.Introduced to each other via mutualfriends, they reside in Sacramento.Stephanie works for the CaliforniaState Senate and Spencer works forBlue Diamond Growers. Stephanie hasattended three conferences.

Cap and GownThe NSA would like to congratulateLisa Bennett on her upcoming gradua-tion from Wichita State University'sDepartment of Communication Sciences& Disorders in December 2010. Lisa hasattended the NSA conferences inChicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, andScottsdale and aims to work in a reha-bilitative setting. Her goal is to becomeASHA certified in fluency and earna board-recognized certification influency disorders.

Lisa credits her interest in the SFA,as well as the fact that stuttering runson both sides of her family, as herreason for pursuing an SLP degree.

Celebrating a MilestoneThe parents of former NSA ExecutiveDirector Annie Bradberry, Seymour(Robby) and Shirley Robbins, recentlycelebrated their 65th wedding anniver-sary! Many NSA members will remem-ber Annie’s parents from past conven-tions where you could find Annie’s dadwalking throughout the hotel eachyear, encouraging people to give to ourChange for the Better Program. It was

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CHANGING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO STUTTER 5

not at all unusual for Robby to getdonations from other guests and hotelemployees who were not even involvedwith the NSA!

Seymour and Shirley were marriedon March 18, 1945 in New York City.In addition to Annie they also have ason, Jeff, three grandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren. They have notbeen able to attend the last few con-ferences as they are not able to travelas frequently as they used to, but theystill enjoy reading about all of you ineach edition of LETTING GO.

TSHA ConventionOn March 25–27, 2010, Joseph Diaz andRuss Hicks manned the NSA booth atthe TSHA convention in Ft. Worth, TX.Lee Reeves, Andrew Bowers, and severalUniversity of Texas at Dallas (UT/D) SLPstudents also came to help out. Therewere over 4,000 SLPs from all over thestate of Texas and many surroundingstates attending the convention in theenormous Ft. Worth Convention Center.There were over 200 exhibit boothsset up, covering every phase of speech-language pathology including schoolrecruiting, language developmentproducts, services for the deaf, andrehab facilities. Attendees got a realappreciation for the wide range ofspeech pathology services available inTexas. The NSA booth had a prime spoton the exhibit hall floor between acochlear implant booth and a rehabfacility booth, both of which werevery interesting.

The booth volunteers gave out lotsof NSA materials, including pamphlets,buttons, and various books. They talkedwith an endless stream of SLPs andstudents coming by our booth for infor-mation on stuttering and the booth’sbottomless bowl of chocolates! NSAvolunteers lost count of the numberof people they talked to, probablynearly a thousand, and collected severalhundred names and e-mail addresses,which they sent to Tammy Flores, NSAexecutive director.

People were extremely interested instuttering, and volunteers made sure

that everyone there knew aboutthe NSA and the important work weare doing for people who stutter. Itwas exhausting, but the NSA folksmade a difference for the NSA andstuttering awareness!

J. David WilliamsJim McClure submitted the followingitem about the passing of J. DavidWilliams:

One of the pioneers of contempo-rary stuttering therapy and supportpassed away April 9 at the age of 88.J. David Williams, Ph.D., was professoremeritus at Northern Illinois University(NIU) until his retirement in 1986.Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Iowa in 1954, specializingin stuttering with such contemporariesas Joe Sheehan and Oliver Bloodstein.His career included teaching andclinical practice at Marshall University,the University of Iowa, the Universityof Northern Iowa, and the University ofthe Philippines (as a Fulbright lecturer)before he came to NIU in 1959.

Dr. Williams was active in theNational Council of Stuttering, oneof the earliest groups of people whostutter. He hosted several of thegroup’s annual conferences and editedits quarterly newsletter. He and hiswife, Dorothy, also a speech therapist,celebrated their 60th wedding anniver-sary in September 2009 at their homein Florida.

I met Dave Williams in the 1980s,when I was just beginning my ownexploration of stuttering. He made adeep impression on me: a person whohad risen to the top of his profession,yet was comfortable with his stuttering.He also had a great sense of humorand could see the humor in manystuttering situations. That level ofself-acceptance is commonplace intoday’s NSA but was new to many ofus in those days.

The NSA dedicated its 2000 confer-ence in Chicago to Dr. Williams. Heremained active in retirement andwas a frequent contributor to theStuttering Home Page.

EngagementAnnouncementMandy Sims wrote to let us know sherecently became engaged:

“Since Jean and I are still in Irelandat the moment, it's not really practicalto call each and every person who isimportant to us, but we just wantedto share the good news that we gotengaged this afternoon (before youheard it on Facebook or Twitter orsecondhand)! After crossing theCarrick-a-Rede rope bridge in NorthernIreland, Jean got down on one knee(in the mud) and asked me to ‘crossback over the bridge and be his wife.’Of course I said yes :)”

Rosalie SchneiderThe NSA expresses its most heartfeltcondolences to Phil Schneider and hisfamily at the passing of his belovedmother, Rosalie Schneider.

Thank You, VolunteersA big thank you goes out to all ofthose who helped at state confer-ences. NSA members from thePennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, WestVirginia, and Ohio chapters workedthe NSA booth at the conferences.Gary Auker, Stephen Tasko, JerryWalther, Kate Gosselin, Mark Steiner,Stephanie Lala, Kathy Spratt, JamieHoogland, Melissa Stankowski, CherylLehmier, Lorretta Connelly, Russ Hicks,Joseph Diaz, Lee Reeves, Nina Reeves,Susie Sunday, and Sally Peterson.

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Radio’s Roundtable segment duringNational Stuttering Awareness Week(May 10–16).

Visit Pam’s blog at stutterrockstar.wordpress.com/.

Questions:• What was your first NSA conference?

Long Beach 2006• Will we see you at this year’s conference

in Cleveland? Yes• Do you belong to an NSA chapter? If so,

which one? Yes – Albany, NY

• Who inspires you the most? To this day,Sister Eleanor, a teacher in high schoolwho “saved” me from me

• Farthest place you’ve traveled to?England, just two weeks ago

• What is your favorite movie? Of alltime, An Officer and a Gentlemen

• How old were you when you startedstuttering? 5 years old; started talkingat 2 just fine

• If you could have one superpower,what would it be? Read people’sminds like Mel Gibson did in WhatWomen Want

• If you won a million dollars, what wouldyou do with it? Donate some to someof the organizations I work with, andtravel – preferably leisurely and with noset agenda

• If you could relive the last five yearsof your life, what would you change?A couple of things: like the lion inthe Wizard of Oz, I wish I had foundmy courage sooner; that means Iwould have been open to my stutteringsooner and I would have felt moreat ease taking risks sooner like travelingand meeting new people and publicspeaking

• If you could be invisible, where wouldyou go and what would you do? I wouldgo to the White House and see whatthe President and his wife talk about inprivate – is it normal stuff just like therest of us?

• What would you like people who don’tstutter to understand about stuttering?That it is not only what you hear –most of stuttering is how we feel aboutit, and people who don’t stutter don’talways get that

Jeff GoodmanFROM DALLAS, TEXAS

As a small business andstartup consultant, NSA

member Jeff Goodmanknows the importanceof developing good networking skills.

To help fellow NSA members get ahead,Jeff, along with NSA board member andpublic relations representative JimMcClure, recently launched a new Yahoo!e-mail group for members looking todiscuss workplace issues and network.

“For people who stutter, this boardcould help you connect with someone whoalready understands before you walk inthe door – that’s the whole idea,” said Jeff,who added that he hopes to eventuallydevelop a career database for NSA memberssearchable by categories such as companyname, industry, college and degree.

Jeff noted that the idea was inspired bya similar networking service offered by hisalma mater, the University of Texas atAustin, where he majored in finance andentrepreneurship. “Obviously, it makessense for the NSA to do something likethis,” he said. “I’m old enough to knowthere really aren’t jobs for life anymore.It makes sense to have this avenue forpeople to network and job search.”

While speech therapy can provide usefultools for people who stutter, it’s often notbased on “real life” situations, said Jeff.The NSA helps people who stutter becomemore comfortable with handling those reallife situations such as job hunting, andthat’s one of the things Jeff hopes to offermembers via the new e-mail group.

Jeff, along with Washington, DC,area NSA member Beth Bienvenu is alsoputting together career-oriented eventssuch as a resume panel, networkinghour/event, and mentoring opportunitiesfor Cleveland attendees to be held onFriday, July 9. If you’re interested inhelping Beth and Jeff, please-mail theNSA at info@WeStutter.org.

The NSA-Business e-mail group –which is only open to current, paid NSA

members, can be found at finance.groups.yahoo.com/group. NSA-Business. For moreinformation on joining the group, e-mailthe NSA office at info@WeStutter.org.

Pam MertzFROM ALBANY, NEW YORK

Raising awareness aboutstuttering has become amission for NSA memberPam Mertz.

Over the past few years, Pam, a highschool career counselor, has given presenta-tions on bullying and teasing prevention atelementary schools in Rensselaer CountySchool District in upstate New York. Sheuses the talks, which often coincide withInternational Stuttering Awareness Day (inOctober) and National Stuttering AwarenessWeek (in May), as a way to teach childrenabout stuttering. During her presentations,Pam invites children to experience stutteringfirsthand by not only voluntarily stutteringon their own name, but also by usingChinese finger traps to demonstrate whatit feels like to get stuck on a block.

“The lesson kills two birds with onestone by not only raising awareness of stut-tering but helping kids realize teasing andbullying are not acceptable,” says Pam, whowas also recently invited to share her experi-ence as a person who stutters during a stafftraining seminar on teasing and bullying.

As a high school career counselor, Pamsays she sometimes finds herself having toconfront teenagers head-on about stutter-ing and give them an impromptu lessonabout it.

“It’s always interesting when I see kidsreacting, smirking, rolling eyes, sometimeshave to wonder if it’s really me or they’rejust being teenagers,” says Mertz. “If I seesomething like that, I’ll just say, ‘Whoa,we need to stop, I’m a person who stuttersand I’m okay with it but I’m not okay withyou making fun of me,’ and that usuallydoes it because they’re like, wow, we neverexpected her to be so upfront, and theyseem to appreciate the fact that I amupfront with them. I’ve got to say whatI need to say and teach people about anexperience they may not be familiar withat the same time.”

Pam credits the NSA with giving herthe confidence to work as a high schoolguidance counselor as well as the courageto spread the word about stuttering.

On May 11, Pam educated people aboutstuttering as a guest on National Public

Members Speak Up

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FACILITATOR WORKSHOP/EVENT

Mick Constantinou A Journey Through the Wall

Justin Matley Stuttering in Audio Post-Production:Balancing Technical and EthicalAdvancements

Robert Demers From Stuttering to Acceptance

Wednesday, CEU (1:00–5:00) Continuing Education Seminar

Research Symposium, Dennis Drayna Discovery of the Genetic Causes ofStuttering

Jamie Rocchio First Timers Gathering

Andy Bowers Iceberg Analogy of Stuttering

Judy Kuster Filling Your Fluency Files Affordably

Friday Career Day

Gary Rentschler Perspectives on Stuttering Therapy: Teacher,Learner, Client

TBA Open Microphones

Family Programs Meet and Greet (Wednesday 1:30–3:00)

Thursday Night Opening Reception

Steven Kaufman How To Break Your Stuttering Stranglehold

Caryn Herring True Life: I Stutter – The Real Story

Twenty-Somethings Check out specific workshops gearedtowards the 20-Somethings

Vivian Sisskin and Crew Sights, Sounds and Adventures on the Roadto Recovery from Stuttering: A Guided TourThrough Avoidance Reduction Therapy

Barbara Dahm Bridging the Gap Between Research andTherapy for Stuttering

Craig Coleman (Family Programs) Storytime! Tarby Comes Out of His Shell

Cathy Olish Mixing and Mingling

Sarah Onofri Actually, No, I Stutter – Taking the Bite outof Advertising

Pam Mertz Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Sometimes ChangeChanges Everything

Charley Adams Are You Transfluent?

Charles Hughes How To Make Stuttering Treatment MeetYour Values

Cathy Olish Covert Stuttering Exposed

Marilee Fini The Flip Side of Stuttering: An AdventureToward Freedom

Family Programs Stuttering Gardens

Family Programs Camp Stutter

Saturday Evening Banquet/Dinner/Auction

Rueben Schuff Job Interviewing: Overcoming Fear andAvoidance

Mary Wood I Need Your Love – Is That True?

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Questions:• What was your first NSA conference?

Anaheim, in 2001 or 2002• Will we see you at this year’s conference

in Cleveland? Yes• Do you belong to an NSA chapter?

If so, which one? Dallas• Who inspires you the most? Anyone who

has overcome a great deal• Farthest place you’ve traveled to? Israel• What is your favorite movie? Hard to

choose just one. Near the top are Jaws,Major League, Old School, Silence ofthe Lambs, Kelly’s Heroes, and WeddingCrashers

• How old were you when you startedstuttering? Apparently when I firststarted talking

• Do you go to speech therapy? Notanymore, but did a lot growing up,until just after college

• If you could have one superpower, whatwould it be? Probably the ability to fly.Wouldn’t need to worry about trafficjams or volcanic ash

• If you won a million dollars, whatwould you do with it? Try to turn itinto $2 million

• If you could relive the last five yearsof your life, what would you change?Maybe buy stock in Apple when thecompany was about to go out of business.Seriously, I try not to look back becauseyou’ll always have regrets. I just tryto live a better life and be a betterperson today

• If a genie granted you 3 wishes, whatwould you ask for? (1) Good healthfor my family and friends; (2) Enoughmoney to not have to work and to beable to travel and enjoy what life hasto offer (see above); (3) 3 more wishes

• What would you like people who don’tstutter to understand about stuttering?Your fluency, or lack thereof, hasno relationship to your intelligence,aptitude, and ability to learn

The NSA has teamed up withOnlineCEUs.com (Pro Course) toprovide several new high-quality,easily accessible continuing education(CE) programs about stuttering forspeech-language pathologists (SLPs).

With OnlineCEUs.com, you cancomplete ASHA-approved continuingeducation programs right on your owncomputer. You can start and stop thecourses whenever you want, savingyour work along the way. The NSAreceives a donation for each courseyou take through OnlineCEUs.com.Courses range from .2 CEUs to .5

CEUs and cover the following topics:• Measurement of stuttering behaviors

(.3 CEUs)• Counseling skills for speech-language

pathologists (.5 CEUs)• Problem-solving strategies for

facilitating generalization andmaintenance (.5 CEUs)

• Indirect and direct therapy (.2 CEUs)• 2 courses on treating adolescents

and adults who stutter (one for.2 CEUs and one for .5 CEUs)

The newest offering is an onlineversion of the NSA’s popular bookletfor parents of young children whostutter (.5 CEUs), adapted to help SLPslearn how to respond to the concernsexpressed by parents.

Finally, a similar adaptation of theNSA’s popular bullying and teasingmanual will be available soon.

You can get the full list of coursesthat benefit you and the NSA by visit-ing our Web site at WeStutter.org.Sign up now to get your CEUs throughOnlineCEUs.com and help the NSA at thesame time! E-mail info@WeStutter.orgwith questions.

SLPs, Get Your CEUs Online Now

ODDS & ENDS continued

119 W. 40th Street, 14th FloorNew York, NY 10018

800.937.8888 (WeStutter)212.944.4050 • 212.944.8244 fax

email: info@WeStutter.org

www.W

eStutter.org

EditorSonya Kunkle, kunkles22@comcast.net

Art DirectorJanet Lenzer

Assistant EditorsBonnie WeissDavid Blazina

ProofreaderEric Ketchum

Phone212.944.4050800.WeStutter (937.8888)

Fax212.944.8244

E-mailinfo@WeStutter.org

Home Pagewww.WeStutter.org

LETTING GO is a forum for views andinformation about stuttering. The opinionsexpressed are those of the individualcontributors and not necessarily the opinionof the National Stuttering Association. TheNSA accepts no responsibility for the accuracyof any opinion or information provided byany contributor, nor do we endorse or rejectany therapeutic strategies, programs, ordevices mentioned in these pages.

©2010 National Stuttering Association.All rights reserved.

Our Time GalaCongratulations to Our Time Theaterfor another successful event. OnMonday, April 19, Our Time hostedtheir eighth annual gala. Foundedby NSA member Taro Alexander,Our Time provides children and teenswith an artistic venue where theycan express themselves free fromhumiliation and teasing.Carly Simon, legendary recipient

of two Grammy Awards, an AcademyAward, and a Golden Globe Award,was honored for being an inspirationalexample for people who stutter. Shesaid of Our Time: “I can only imaginehow many kids, teens and adults aregoing to be touched personally by OurTime. I had a very debilitating stammerfor most of my life. I don't think Iwould have used the word “debilitat-ing” to describe it if there had beensuch a mother figure of empathy, likeOur Time, that was publicly and pri-vately helping me through all thoseyears of suffering. This wonderful,young, talented and selfless man, TaroAlexander, has contributed his giftstoward seeing that having a stutter

has grace and originality, and does nothave to be hidden in the dark chambersof shame. I truly believe in Our Time,and I am very proud to be an activemember of this program.”

Among the highlights includeddazzling performances from the OurTime kids with the help of Broadwayperformers Kate Jennings Grant (WhenA Stranger Calls), B.D. Wong (Law &Order: SVU), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent),and Kelli O’ Hara.

Catherine MontgomerySpecial tribute tofollow in the nextissue.Long time NSAsupporter andfriend CatherineMontgomerypassed away

on May 27th. “Catherine was passion-ate about her program, her friends,and the peopleshe treated, Donna Cooperman stated.The world is a darker place in herabsence.” Catherine leaves a legacythat will continue on. Our condolencesto her family, friends, and the AIS family.