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

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

By Anne L. Foundas, M.D. andEdward G. Conture, Ph.D.

Developmental stuttering has alifetime incidence (i.e., percent-age of adults who stuttered atsome point) of nearly 5% and is

one of the morecommon develop-mental speech dis-orders. Althoughthe disorder sig-nificantly im-pacts the academ-ic, emotional, so-cial and vocation-al achievements,development andpotential of indi-viduals who stut-ter, importantquestions remainregarding factorsthat cause, exac-erbate and/ormaintain stutter-ing. Likewise, the

efficaciousness of various treat-ments for stuttering remains asource of vigorous debate as wellas investigation. Among such

Darren Sproles, the StutteringFoundation’s spokesman forNational Stuttering AwarenessWeek, posted the second-bestyard gain in Chargers post-sea-son history in a January 3 gameagainst the Colts. He also becamethe player with the third mostyards of any player in a singlepost-season game in NFL history.

Off the field, he’s reached arecord-breaking number of kidsand adults who stutter with amessage of help. In fact, theFoundation’s Web site,www.stutteringhelp.org, hasrecorded more than 2 million hitsin the four weeks leading up tothe May 11th awareness week.

National Stuttering Awareness Week

May 11-17

National Stuttering Awareness Week

May 11-17

Continued on page 6

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Edward G.Conture, Ph.D.

Anne L. Foundas, M.D.

Research onElectronicDevices:

Preliminary Results

Breaks Records On and Off the FieldStar

Joseph Donaher, Ph.D.

By Joseph Donaher, Ph.D.,The Center for ChildhoodCommunication,The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

The role of genetic factorsin the onset and maintenanceof stuttering has received con-siderable attention. Multiple

studies have shown that stut-tering runs in families andthat approximately 70% ofthe variance in liability tostutter can be accounted forthrough inheritable factors1,2.

The contribution of congeni-tal factors and early neuro-logical incidents has beenless thoroughly investigated

but research has suggestedthat both may be causal fac-tors for some individualswho stutter, especially thosewith no family history ofstuttering3,4. Furthermore, ithas been suggested thatwhen no genetic componentis present, adults who stutter

The Impact of ADHD on Stuttering Therapy

Continued on page 4

Chargers Star Darren Sproles

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treatments, altered-auditory feed-back (AAF) has received consid-erable attention in recent years.

With advances in digital tech-nology, one such AAF device, the SpeechEasy, has been designedand marketed to treat stuttering.This small de-vice is worn likea hearing aid andcan be adjustedin terms of de-layed auditoryfeedback (DAF)as well as fre-quency alteredfeedback (FAF)parameters, and volume.According to the SpeechEasy’s as-sociated marketing literature, suchAAF adjustments of the auditorysidetone for speech mimic the ef-fects of choral reading. Results ofempirical studies can be taken tosuggest that this device is effectivefor at least some adults who stutter(AWS; References 1-6).

We have recently initiated anempirical study to characterize, in-dependent of manufacturer speci-

fications, the audiometric (e.g.,frequency characteristics) proper-ties of the SpeechEasy as well asits potential influence on stutteringin AWS. Specifically, we have at-tempted to assess how this deviceinfluences stuttering in adults withpersistent developmental stutter-

ing (PDS) aswell as the ex-tent to whichdevice settingsand the use ofthe device in theleft versus theright ear con-tributes to thisinfluence.

To date, eleven participants (PDS= 7, Controls = 4) have been exam-ined without the device in place(baseline), with the device in placebut not on, with the device in placeusing manufacturer-suggested andmanufacturer-independent settings,and in each ear independently.Reading, narrative, and conversa-tional speech-language productionwere examined for each partici-pant. For this initial study, we lim-ited our sample to right-handedmen ages 20 to 40 years who do

800-992-93922www.stutteringhelp.org

STUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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Funds expended for:Creation, production, printing and distribution

of educational materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $567,362 . . . . . . . 37.8%Public information and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336,805 . . . . . . . 22.4%Educational symposia for professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184,657 . . . . . . . . 12.3%Research on causes/treatment of stuttering and therapy . . . . . . . . . 261,958 . . . . . . . . 17.4%Maintain Web site and toll-free information hotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88,293 . . . . . . . . . 5.9%Total for Program Services:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,439,075 . . . . . . 95.8%Other expenditures:

Administration and general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53,276 . . . . . . . . . 3.5%Fund-raising expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,208 . . . . . . . . 0.7%

Total Expenditures: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,502,559 . . . . . . . 100%

The annual audit of theStuttering Foundation financialreports for 2008 was recentlycompleted by the accountingfirm of Cannon and Company,Certified Public Accountants,Memphis, Tenn. Following is arecap of funds and expendituresfor the year.The 3.5% of expenditures for

administration and general ex-penses and the 7/10 of 1% for

fund raising are very low, andsince we are fortunate to have anendowment which more thancovers our overhead expenses,donors can be assured that theirgifts will go directly to supportour program services.The Foundation is a 501(c)(3)

private operating foundation whichexpends its funds on its own pro-grams and operations and does notmake grants to other institutions.

Annual Audit of Foundation

George CooleyRemembered

1931-2009

Longtime Stuttering FoundationBoard member George Cooleypassed away onFeb. 20, 2009.

George and hiswife, Jeanette,founded MercuryPrinting Companyin Memphis,where GeorgerevolutionizedStuttering Found-ation materials - everything frombooks to brochures to posters andnewsletters.

“George knew everythingthere was to know about theprinting business and was also asuperlative teacher,” said JaneFraser. “Not a day goes by that Idon’t put to use something hetaught me.”

George was committed to help-ing others who stutter and is sore-ly missed by all who were fortu-nate enough to know him andwork with him over the years. �

George Cooley

Research Continued from front page

(PDS) and do not (controls) stutter.Individual performance profileswere examined in relation tobaseline output and results werecomputed as a proportion of ut-terances (stuttering events in thefirst 300 syllables in each speak-ing condition).

Preliminary findings indicatethat the device has more influenceon stuttering frequency during nar-ration and reading than duringconversational speech but that thiseffect interacts with which ear thedevice is worn on. That is, someparticipants exhibited more effectwith the device in the left versusright ears. As has been shown withprevious studies, there is also con-siderable variation among partici-pants. The extent to which theplacebo effect can account for atleast some of these findings is stillunder investigation.

In summary, our preliminaryContinued on page 3

Testing the electronic device.

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The Foundation has beenhearing from readers acrossAmerica … in rural areas aswell as suburbs and large cities… through the medium offruit, vegetable, and crop farm-ing magazines. Reaching avaried group of people in rural,often isolated areas is particu-larly rewarding.

Other magazines and newspa-pers featured here have donated arecord-breaking number of pub-lic service ads to the Foundation.

PSAs Produce a Harvest

Health

Farming & Agriculture

News & Financial

Sports & Style

Technical

Corn & Soybean Digest, AmericanVegetable Grower, GreenhouseGrower, Western Fruit Grower, and Soybean Digest.

Time, The New York Post,Fortune, Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities, GeorgiaTrend, The Philadelphia Inquirer,and the Pittsburg Tribune-Review.

3Sound & Vision and PopularPhotography.

AARP magazine, Redbook,Seventeen, New York Times Magazine, ESPN,Good Housekeeping, and Avenue Calgary.

The American Journal of PublicHealth, JAMA, American Journal ofNursing and Dentistry Today.

Stuttering Foundation press re-leases can be read worldwide! Infact, one article about V.P. JoeBiden’s struggles with stutteringwas published in EquatorialGuinea, the only Spanish-speak-ing country in Africa. �

Read Around the World

results appear to indicate that theSpeechEasy device can influencestuttering during at least readingand narration, but that there is con-siderable individual variation in itseffect. It is thought important to de-termine whether specific settings,ear placement or other biologicalfactors impact users’ response tothe device. Preliminary findingswere taken to suggest that changesin stuttering, at least for someadults who stutter, may be relatedto changes in speech-languagemonitoring, something impactedby AAF devices like the SpeechEasy. These findings do seem tosupport the need to further studywhy this AAF device impacts stut-tering for some but not other PDS.

Editor’s note: The StutteringFoundation is pleased to supportthis new research.References1. Armson J, Kiefte M, Mason J, De Croos D.(2006) The effect of SpeechEasy on stutteringfrequency in laboratory conditions. J FluencyDisord. 31:137-152.2. Armson J, Kiefte M. (2008) The effect ofSpeechEasy on stuttering frequency, speech rate,and speech naturalness. J Fluency Disord.33:120-134.3. Kalinowski, J. (2003). Self-reported efficacyof an all in-the-ear-canal prosthetic device to in-hibit stuttering during one hundred hours of uni-versity teaching. Disability and Rehabilitation,25, 107–111.4. O'Donnell JJ, Armson J, Kiefte M. (2008) The ef-fectiveness of SpeechEasy during situations of dailyliving. J Fluency Disord. 2008; 33:99-119. 5. Stuart, A., Kalinowski, J., Rastatter, M. P.,Saltuklaroglu, T., & Dayalu, V. (2004).Investigations of the impact of altered auditoryfeedback in-the ear devices on the speech of peo-ple who stutter: Initial fitting and 4-month followup. International Journal of Language &Communication Disorders, 39, 93–113.6. Stuart, A, Kalinowski, J, Saltuklaroglu, T, &Guntupalli, VK. (2006). Investigations of the im-pact of altered auditory feedback in-the-ear de-vices on the speech of people who stutter: One-year follow-up. Disability and Rehabilitation,28, 757–765. �

Research Continued from page 2

162376.qx8:newsletter 4/15/09 3:28 PM Page 3

are more likely to present with in-creased ADHD-like characteristicspossibly as a result of underlyingneurological factors 3.

While research linkingstuttering with ADHD is lim-ited at best, preliminary re-ports suggest that the preva-lence of ADHD among chil-dren who stutter is signifi-cantly higher than in thegeneral population5,6.

Thus, research is neededto better understand this re-lationship in an attempt toidentify risk factors, man-agement strategies andpossible neurologicalunderpinnings of eachdisorder. However, amore pressing need re-lates to the clinicalmanagement of chil-dren who stutter who present withdiagnosed ADHD or with subclini-cal levels of ADHD-like traits.

The speech-language patholo-gist, working as part of a coordinat-ed multidisciplinary team, mustconsider the impact that ADHDtraits could have on an individual’sability to succeed in therapy. Forexample, children with ADHD fre-quently struggle with monitoringtheir behaviors on-line, especiallywhen challenged with time pres-sure7. Thus, a child with concomi-tant stuttering and ADHD may findit difficult to effectively monitor hisspeech and make corrections at themoment of stuttering. In this case,the child may fully understandwhat to do but his struggling wouldbe related to consistently usingwhat he knows in real-life situa-tions. Unfortunately, this could bemisinterpreted as the child notwanting to use his strategies orlacking motivation.

Speech-language pathologistsmust also monitor for anychanges in stuttering which couldbe due to the use of psychostimu-lant medication which remainsthe most common intervention forADHD8. While it is out of the

speech-language pathologist’sscope of practice to suggestwhether a family should or shouldnot pursue pharmacological inter-vention, any significant changesin stuttering behaviors should be

reported to the medicalteam. The team can then de-termine whether to discon-tinue the medication, alterthe dosage or switch to a different medication.Unfortunately, there are fewstudies describing the effectsof ADHD medications onstuttering and much of theclinical management must bedone on an ad-hoc basis.

Lastly, speech-lan-guage pathologistsshould have a thoroughunderstanding of ADHDand resources for fami-lies and professionals.An excellent starting

point is the brochure, ADHD andStuttering by the StutteringFoundation. Additionally, therapistscan utilize online resources like TheStuttering Homepage and Childrenand Adults with Attention DeficitDisorders – CHADD. By keepingthe lines of communication open be-tween all team members, the speech-language pathologist can increasecarry-over and retention of the mate-rial presented in therapy while limit-ing the frustration and anxiety thattoo often hinders progress.

1. Felsenfeld, S., Kirk, K.M., Zhu, G., Statham, D.J.,Neale, M.C., & Martin, N.G. (2000). A study of the genet-ic and environmental etiology of stuttering in a selectedtwin sample. Behavioral Genetics. Sep;30(5):359-66.

2. Yairi, E., Ambrose, N., & Cox N. (1996). Geneticsof stuttering: a critical review. Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research.Aug;39(4):771-84.

3. Alm, P., A., & Risberg, J. (2007). Stuttering inadults: The acoustic startle response, temperamental traits,and biological factors. Journal of CommunicationDisorders. 40, 1-41.

4. Poulos, M., & Webster, W. (1991). Family historyas a basis for subgrouping people who stutter. Journal ofSpeech and Hearing Research. 34, 5-10.

5. Healey, E., C., & Reid, R. (2003). Tutorial onStuttering and ADHD. Journal of Fluency Disorders.Volume 28, Number 2.

6. Biederman, J., Faraone, S.V., Spencer, T., Wilens,T., Norman, D., Lapey, K.A., Mick, E., Lehman, B.K., &Doyle, A. (1993). Patterns of psychiatric comorbidity, cog-nition, and psychosocial functioning in adults with atten-tion deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal ofPsychiatry. Dec; 150(12): 1792-8.

7. Van Meel, C.S., Heslenfeld, D.J., Oosterlaan, J., &Sergeant, J.A. (2007). Adaptive control deficits in atten-tion-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): the role oferror processing. June 30;151(3):211-20.

8. Zuyekas, S., Vitiello, B., & Norguist, G. (2006). Recenttrends in stimulant medication use among U.S. children.American Journal of Pyschiatry. April; 163(4): 574-577. �

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

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As part of a new clinical study,researchers will test whether pago-clone, an investigational medicationfor stuttering, may offer a way toachieve more fluent speech.

More details are available atwww.StutteringStudy.com. �

Stutteringand Singing

ADHD Continued from front page

For more informationon ADHD and stuttering, downloadthis free brochure atwww.stutteringhelp.org.

By Lisa Scott, Ph.D.

Answering young reader’squestion … see page 8

We don’t know for sure whypeople don’t stutter when theysing, but it’s probably a combi-nation of reasons:

1. When you sing, you takebreaths in between measures.This means that the number ofwords you say on one breath isvery specific. When you talk, onthe other hand, you can takebreaths wherever you want in thesentence. Sometimes, peoplewho stutter have a hard timekeeping their air going, so itmakes talking harder.

2. Different parts of our brainshelp us think or act in specialways. Most people’s center formusic is on the right side of theirbrains, but the speech center ison the left side of the brain. Thismeans that the “controls” are dif-ferent for talking versus singing.

3. Another idea that might ex-plain why people don’t stutterwhen they sing has to do withhow much you have to think ofwords on your own. When youare talking, you have to have anidea, then pick out the wordsyou’re going to use to tell some-one else your idea, then get yourmuscles and air going to be ableto say the words. When you sing,someone else has already thoughtup all the words and it’s not yourown idea, another good reasonthat sining is easier than talking.

We hope this helps answeryour question! �

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Eastern Workshop attendeeswere contacted six months aftertheir 5-day training to see howeach of them is using their trainingin working with people who stutter.Here’s what they had to say …

“It has been an eye opening ex-perience for my clients when theystart identifying their NegativeAutomatic Thoughts and the im-pact it has on their stuttering. Thecognitive model is also used to ad-dress specific problems along withtheir fear and anxiety to break downthe ineffective safety net they hadpreviously created and develop aneffective replacement.”

“I always start my ther-apy sessions with ‘Whatare your best hopes fortoday?’ which has beenshown to be such a high-ly effective tool to ad-dress their needs.”

“The focus on posi-tive behaviors and theuse of ‘special times’has provided the most frequent andpositive feedback from parents ofmy preschoolers. It’s been such apleasure to see the relief on theirfaces simply because they can nowshift focus from stopping disfluen-cy to examining the fluent times.”

“The way Parent ChildInteractive Therapy is presented isexceptional--parents have told metime and time again how ‘specialtime’ not only helps to achieve flu-ent speech, but gives them the op-portunity to feel the burden andworry lifted from their shouldersand revel in a truly special interac-tion with their child.”

“The Solution Focused Brief

Therapy has given me a greatway to find out what my clientshave been doing since our lastsession to move themselves for-ward. I really like how the ques-tioning leads them to solutions.”

“I use the rating scale that theclients do by themselves all the timesince it seems to give the client own-ership on what they are or are notdoing to move themselves forward.The positive approach fits so well.”

“The best experience with theParent Child Interactive Therapyhas been with a young boy. The re-sults have really been two-fold ...

his fluency has stabilized and momfeels more confident about stutter-ing therapy. During the video pro-cess, several ‘lightbulb/aha’ mo-ments occurred as we noticed whatwas working. The ability to workon one homework idea each weekmade the plan feel manageable toher. When she identified ways tobuild his confidence, allowed himto problem solve situations with-out her interference, and learned tofollow his lead in play, the fluencysignificantly increased. She alsolearned to talk openly about hisfluency.”

“Helping parents learn how totake responsibility in helping

their children learn is an incredi-bly valuable tool, as well astraining the parents to focus onthe things that are going right.”

“The parents had been so dis-couraged in previous attempts attherapy, and fully believed theywere doing everything wrong.Their apparent confidence as par-ents grew remarkably through thetime of our Solution FocusedTherapy. They adore the specialtimes with the child who stutters aswell as with his brother. The childdecreased stuttering considerably.He’s getting direct therapy now

and his parents are con-tinuing special times athome. All are movingwell toward their goals.”

“What I have seen to bemost effective in my useof Parent ChildInteractive Therapy ishow the parents are nowfeeling empoweredrather than helpless by

looking at what interaction strate-gies help their child to become morefluent. Integrating ‘descriptivepraise’ and ‘special time’ have beeneffective tools for parents.”

“I find myself asking ‘And howwould that make a difference?’ and‘What else?’ in most of my conver-sations, including those with col-leagues, student teachers and familymembers. It sure beats ‘Well, I thinkyou should ... blah, blah, blah.’ Ihave a long way to go with this butam in happy mode about it all.”

Editor’s note: Your donationshelp to fund workshops like this oneeach year and in return hundreds ofpeople who stutter are helped. �

Stepping up with the newesttechnology, the StutteringFoundation launched its e-Catalog this spring.

You can load it on your desk-top, browse through the pages,zoom on items of interest, search

for specific products, bookmark,make notes, and even link direct-ly to the Foundation’s Web storeto order by clicking on any item.

If you would like to receive thee-Catalog link, just let us know -info@stutteringhelp.org. �

Paperless e-Catalog Available

Six Months Later ...Six Months Later ...

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Susan Hamilton in Tacoma, Wash.,where Dr. Tricia Zebrowski presentedan all-day workshop on fluency.

Carol Ecke, helped by Connie Dugan, manthe Illinois state convention booth for theStuttering Foundation.

Kavita Kaul and her student Nickwowed the audience of attendeesat the Virgina state convention.

Terri Jones brought SFAproducts to the Universityof Memphis NSSLHAConference.

Carol Eckeworked her magic to get

the StutteringFoundation booth ready atconferences in California.

Carl Dell and Carol Eckewith a copy of his semi-nal book, Treating theSchool-Age Child WhoStutters.

Charlie Osborne, seconded by ErinDyer, volunteer for the SFA booth at the Wisconsion state convention.

Dorothy Olson,April Brown

and CarolSchaefer visit

the booth.

Volunteers Make a Difference

Kudos to the many volunteers whogive generously of their time and en-ergy in working exhibit boothsacross the country! Some volunteerslike SLPs Charlie Osborne andKavita Kaul not only work in thebooth but also give input into whatmaterials to send to the convention,physically set up the booth, organizeadditional workers, and help man thebooth throughout the event!

Charlie and Kavita contacted theFoundation and asked if they couldvolunteer for their state conventions.Thanks to them - materials were

available at the Wisconsin andVirginia conventions.

Susan Hamilton, of Washingtonstate, is always a first-rate volunteeras she helps get the word out aboutthe newest products on stutteringtreatment at the all-day Tacoma-NSA workshop.

Terri Jones of the Foundation’sMemphis office reported, “It was aprivilege to represent SFA at the Mid-South Conference . I enjoyed hearingstories of the early days of the

Foundation from the many attendees,many of whom remembered founder,Malcolm Fraser. I also got feedbackon how our materials are helpingtheir clients.”

“Professional boother” and boosterCarol Ecke continues her enthusiasticconvention schedule and relates howexciting it is for her to have SLPs andstudents volunteering in the boothalongside of her. �

NFL star running back DarrenSproles is featured on this new poster.

“We’ve been inundated with re-quests for the new poster featuringDarren “jumping off the page,”said Pat Hamm at the SFAMemphis office. “We’ve neverseen this kind of response before.”

Newspaper editor Akwasi Evansrequested a copy of the new posterfor his office in Austin, Texas. He re-

lates, “I have been working on mystuttering for 54 years and stillhaven't conquered it, although I con-trol it well enough to host a weeklyradio talk show, conduct televisioninterviews and accept regular publicspeaking engagements.”

For him, as for so many others,Darren Sproles stands out as anoutstanding role model. �

Sproles Continued from front page

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Pediatric Nurse Practitionersflocked to San Diego fromthroughout the country fortheir Annual Conference.

June Campbell visited withpractitioners from more than 18states, including Massachusetts,Georgia, Illinois, Arkansas,Utah, Florida, New Hampshire,Minnesota and Texas.

Some nurses stopped by toshare how the Foundation’sliterature has helped their pa-tients, others were studentswho had not yet been exposedto the literature or Web siteand others shared how theyused books and brochures inNursing Education programs.

June noted, “Some of myfavorite conversations werewith children joining theirmothers at the conference.They enjoyed asking ques-tions about stuttering, sharingabout children they know whostutter and looking at SFA’sbooks Trouble at Recess andSometimes I Just Stutter.” �

Pediatric NursePractitionersUndeterred

by Economy

June Campbell answers ques-tions during a conference ofPediatric Nurse Practitioners.

Malcolm Fraser Community ServiceAward Presented in Memphis

By Cara Donahue

Each year the Malcolm FraserCommunity Service Award ispresented by the Mid-SouthConference on CommunicativeDisorders to an individual in theMemphis community as a tributeto a man who contributed greatlyto the field of com-municative disor-ders, namely in thefield of stuttering.

Malcolm Fraser,together with hisbrother, was one ofthe early founders ofthe NAPA GenuineParts Company inAtlanta in 1928. Heused the money fromauto parts stock tostart the StutteringFoundation ofAmerica. Today theFoundation reachespeople in 126 coun-tries, and Mr.Fraser’s book, SelfTherapy for the Stutterer, hashelped countless numbers of peoplewho struggle with stuttering.

The Malcolm Fraser CommunityService Award honors his many ac-complishments and unselfishnessand is given to an individual wholike Mr. Fraser has made a signifi-

cant contribution to the field ofcommunication disorders.

This year’s award recipient,Cindy Myers, as the mother of achild with special needs, is an ad-vocate for not only her daughter,but other children with disabili-ties in the Memphis area who arealso communicatively delayed.

A few years ago,Cindy created both asocial skills groupand a Sunday Schoolgroup at HopePresbyterian Churchas a way to give thesechildren the opportu-nity to build commu-nication skills. LauraMartin and severalUniversity ofMemphis speechpathology studentscommented, “Cindyhas shown passionand commitmentwhile organizingthese programs. Shehas spent countless

hours working to provide chil-dren with an accepting environ-ment where they can developcommunication skills at theirown pace.”

Cindy’s selfless attitude anddedication exemplify the idealsconsistent with Mr. Fraser’s. �

Cindy Myers (right)with her daughterGabriella, and BeckyJones, NSSLHA president.

The American Academy ofPediatrics will incorporate theStuttering Foundation Checklistfor Referral in their upcoming2010 PREP Self Assessment pub-lication. It is a compilation ofclinically relevant review ques-tions and critiques based on theAAP Content Specifications forMaintenance of Certification.

The checklist will be made

available not only to more than30,000 pediatric residents but alsoto all AAP subscribers throughprint, online and CD-Rom.

As a result, thousands of youngchildren who experience disfluen-cies will be helped in a more time-ly manner. �

Checklist Reaches Pediatricians

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Like a roller coasterDear SFA:My name is Britney, and I’m 8

years old. I have been stutteringsince I was 5 years old. When Istart to stutter my mom tells meto think about what I’m going tosay before I talk. Every time Istutter it feels like a rollercoaster because when Istutter the roller coastergoes bump, bump, bump.That is why stuttering feelslike a roller coaster to me.I get frustrated a lot be-cause when my cousinstease me I start to stutter alot. But sometimes I trynot to think about the teas-ing and I try to calm down.I tell them to stop teasingme because that will makeme stutter even more. Andnow I’m starting to get bet-ter. One of the things Ilearned in speech is abouteye contact. I am glad I amin this speech class be-cause I am starting to getbetter at not stuttering.Britney, 8Pomona, Calif.

Singing questionDear SFA:My name is Lizette. I would love

to tell you about my stuttering.Sometimes I get really frustratedand other times I’m calm. You seeI hate it when people try and helpme and say “slow down” or “whatdid you say?” It just makes methink more about stuttering andthat’s when I get nervous and tendto stutter even more.

I love to sing, and my friends willask me, “Why don’t you stutterwhen you sing?” That’s where I getstuck. I don’t know what to say.

Yes, I do accept who I am and Iknow that no one is perfect, but

sometimes I just want to pull myhair out. My stuttering usually iswhen I start to get really excited orreally nervous.LizetteCache, Okla.

Editor’s Note: See page 4 for areply from Dr. Lisa Scott.

Going down the roadDear SFA:My name is Greg. I’m 9 years

old and in the third grade. I thinkstuttering is like a car on a road.If you stutter, you are going toofast. If you don’t stutter, you gowhere you want to go and youdon’t get a ticket.Greg, 9Hanover, Pa.

Stuttering is OKDear SFA:My name is Damian and I stutter.

Sometimes I am mad becausewhen I am reading at school somesay “hurry up” and sigh, and Idon’t like that. But it is OK to stut-

ter. To me, nothing is wrong with it.And I don’t care what people thinkabout my stuttering.DamianCache, Okla.

Stuttering feels like a ballDear SFA:

My name is Jabaree. I’vebeen stuttering for 6 yearsand I’m through with it!

My stuttering feels like abasketball. When the ballbounces, I feel like I can’tget my words out. And whenI shoot the ball, I drag mywords out. Dragging mywords and sliding are thebest ways I use to not stutteras much. Some kids ask mewhy I talk like that, and I tellthem I stutter.

Most of them are myfriends, and they don’ttease me. When I getteased, I try to ignore it andI don’t get mad.

In all I’m OK and I likemy life.JabareePamona, Calif.

Speech teacher helpsDear SFA:Hi, my name is Derrik. I block

sometimes. I feel OK about myspeech. I repeat stuff a lot, butsometimes I don’t repeat a lot. I goget help from my speech teacher. Ifeel blocking is a little OK.DerrikHanover, Pa.

Making friendsDear SFA:My name is Evan and I am 11

years old. I stutter like all the otherkids who write to the StutteringFoundation. I repeat my words butthat’s OK now because I go tospeech class and I’ve improved so

Send letters to SFA, P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN 38111-0749 or e-mail info@stutteringhelp.org.

Dear SFA: Reader Response

Joel (left) and Shawn, 10-year-old twins, cele-brated Pi Day by memorizing more than 150digits of Pi between the two of them. Pi Day iscelebrated by math enthusiasts around theworld on March 14, which is taken from thefirst three digits of the equation and happens tobe Einstein’s birthday. Shawn, who has beenstuttering since a young age, has been doingadult puzzles since he was 5 years old.

Continued on page 11

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First picture: “This is how I feel when I stutter... It feels like I’m going up a steep hill. I’mforcing myself to go up when I stutter. When I finally get up, I try to stop myself because I’mgoing down too fast. I may trip and fall,” writes Nicholas, 6th grader from Henrico, Va.

Second picture: “This is how I feel when I use my strategies... The best way to go up a hillduring a stuttering block... easy pace, taking adequate time, don’t rush, steady rhythm inspeech, sliding down easily (I don’t trip and fall).

“If the voice box and mouth makeyou stutter, then the brain will getrid of the bump. If the brain can’tdo it, then you will have to get ridof it yourself. Another way is tospeak slowly,” writes Hunter.

“This is a picture of me giving my presentation. Thestuttering ghost doesn’t let me talk right,” writesAmbrosia, 8, of Pittsburgh, Pa. “I use my strategies toscare the ghost away. When I was in first grade I hadto give a presentation on a flying squirrel. I was shybecause I was afraid that I would get stuck on mywords. My teacher had to do it for me. It’s okay to getstuck on words sometimes. Now that I use my pull-outs,I don’t stutter as much when I am talking to people.”

3Sometimes when we stutter we feellike we are trapped in a box,” writes J.from Brooklyn, N.Y. “Sometimes whenyou stutter you feel nervous and forgetthe way to come out of the stutter.”

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Mrs. S

.

Chris

Isaac

Zackary

Max

Hunter

Max

I’m so very p

roud of

all of you. Y

ou have

been rem

embering

to use yo

ur speech

helpers! K

eep up

the good work.

In speech

class I’mlearning

how

to make the

“S” so

unds.

Speech

class hashelp

ed me.

I was nervo

uswhen I started

speech. I tho

ught I

would be teased

. Iwas w

rong.

Mrs. S

. hashelp

ed me to

really improve

my sp

eech.

I like speech

class. My

speech is m

uchsmoother thanbefore.

I am learning

touse less b

umps

in my sp

eech.I learned

to use

many sp

eechhelp

ers in therap

y. My

speech is so

much sm

oother.

Th

ese comp

uterized

draw

ings

were created

by

stud

ents in

Mrs. S

’ speech

class.

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Do you have a letter, drawing, or poem you would like published? Please send it to us with your name, phone

number, age, and signed parent permission form. Mail to:The Stuttering Foundation, 3100 Walnut Grove Road,

Suite 603 Memphis, TN 38111-0749.

much. I’ve gotten teased by a lot ofkids. When I get teased, it’s likegetting punched in the face. Thekids who teased me are now myfriends because I forgave them.What I ask for from a friend is forthem to treat me the way they wantto be treated.

Through the years, stuttering has-n’t pushed me back from playingsports and doing activities. Its actu-ally pushed me forward and al-lowed me to tell my friends aboutmy stuttering.

Thank you Stuttering Foundationfor supporting all the kids inAmerica. And, remember, there isno perfect speech. All the perfectspeech you could get is confidenceand it is all from the heart.Evan, 11Stevenson Ranch, Calif.

Ignore teasingDear SFA:My name is Naftali. I am 8 years

old. I stutter. I think that stuttering isnot bad at all. Sometimes peopletease me. I ignore it because no oneis perfect and no one will ever beperfect.Naftali, 8Far Rockaway, N.Y.

Things that helpDear SFA:My name is Cherrelle. I attend

Fairfield Court Elementary. WhenI am talking, sometimes I start tostutter a little bit. When I’m withmy speech therapist, it’s like Inever stutter. I never stutter when Iread something. When she closesthe book, I start to stutter. When Istutter, first I’ll stop then I’ll startover and make up a little rhythm tothe speech. When I’m with myfamily, I stutter a lot. But now I’mused to stuttering around people. Ifyou stutter, it is OK. Just tap yourleg and start on your sentence. Itwill really help.Cherrelle,Richmond, Va.

What should I do?Dear SFA:My name is Makayla. I am 8

years old. I’m like my daddy be-cause he stutters too. People makefun of me. When people make funof me I get sad because I feel badfor stuttering. I was wondering whatshould I do if someone makes fun ofme? What did the other kids do?

Makayla, 8E-mail

Editor’s Note: Be sure to readthe letters in this newsletter fromother children who have ideasabout teasing. Remember to notlet the teasing get you down andto stay calm. It's okay to let othersknow teasing hurts and to askthem to stop.

Another good resource isSometimes I Just Stutter. In it,every time 9-year old Mark isteased, he just grins and says,“Come back when you can stutterbetter than I do!” �

Letters Continued from page 8

Dear SFA,My name is Chris and I amin the fifth grade. I havebeen going to speech ther-apy since kindergarten. Ihave learned different waysto help my speech. When Iuse them, my speech is notbumpy. When I forget touse them my speech isbumpy.Chris

You’re welcome. You’re

welcome.

I hate itwhen peoplemake fun of me.

HomeRun!

I rememberedto use my

speech helpers.

By MaxBy Isaac

By Maxwell

By Chris

When you remember touse your speech helpers,you can hit a home run!!!

Thank youguys forstanding upfor me.

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B.B. King and John Lee Hookerhave much in common. Born inMississippi only a few yearsapart, both are considered amongthe best blues gui-tarists of all-time.Both King andHooker have beeninducted into TheRock and Roll Hallof Fame. However,what the publicmay not know isthat they have an-other thing in com-mon: stuttering.

B.B. King wasborn Riley B. King in 1925.Listed as number three onRolling Stone’s list of the 100greatest guitarists of all-time,King’s career and accomplish-ments are legendary, yet hisstuttering has received scantattention over the years.

B.B. stuttered from the timehe was a child. According toEveryday I Sing the Blues: TheStory of B.B. King by DavidShirley, while in grade schoolKing attended the livelyPentecostal church services, andit was there that he discoveredhe had a special gift for music.People were amazed that hecould sing so beautifully withoutstuttering. The church’s pastor con-tended that it was the Holy Ghostwho sang so gracefully throughB.B.’s throat when the young ladjoined the choir.

In his 1996 autobiography, BluesAll Around Me: The Autobiographyof B.B. King, King wrote, “I struggle

with words. Never could express my-self the way I wanted. My mindfights my mouth, and thoughts getstuck in my throat. Sometimes they

stay stuck for seconds or evenminutes. As a child, I stut-tered. What was inside could-n’t get out. I’m still not realfluent. I don’t know a lot ofgood words. If I were wrong-fully accused of a crime, I’d

have a tough time explainingmy innocence. I’d stammer andstumble and choke up until thejudge would throw me in jail.Words aren’t my friends. Musicis. Sounds, notes, rhythms. Italk through music.”

King faced the typical difficultiesfaced by many children who stutter.

However, he had role models whostuttered. His Uncle Major was a se-vere stutterer and King wrote ofhim, “Probably because I stutteredtoo, the way he suffered with hisspeech broke my heart and made melove him even more. There was asilent bond between us. Unlike oth-ers, I could feel what he wanted tosay and sometimes said it for him.”

His great-grandfather, PopDavidson, who had been aslave, was a major influ-ence on King’s life and alsostuttered. King’s admirationfor his great-grandfatherhelped him accept his ownstuttering. When discussingtheir stuttering bond in hisautobiography, King wroteof his great-grandfather,“Sometimes I wonderedabout Pop’s stuttering,which unlike UncleMajor’s, frustrated him likecrazy; I wondered if aspeech impediment has todo with a boiled-up fury in-side. Why did I stutter?Classmates were cruel and

called me stupid,teasing me some-thing fierce. But Inever saw anyonetease PopDavidson.”

Countless timesin his life, Kinghas stated thatsinging was al-ways easier than

speaking. He claims that his stut-tering has decreased over theyears but is always there. �

B ues legends have Even stuttering

B.B. King

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many things in common

John Lee Hooker

To list all of the accom-plishments of these twofamed blues guitaristswould be a major task.B.B. King and John LeeHooker have an infinite

number of CDs avail-able on Amazon.comand to say that thetwo are well repre-sented on YouTube isan understatement. Itis disheartening tothink that the generalpublic does not knowthat the two greatestblues guitarists of all-time shared the com-mon bond of stutter-ing and that theirspeech problemswere responsible forleading them tomusic at an early ageand on their way tointernational super-stardom.

John Lee Hooker, born in 1915,also took refuge in music at anearly age as he struggled with stut-tering. In the biography Boogie Man: TheAdventures of JohnLee Hooker in theAmerican TwentiethCentury, authorCharles ShaarMurray states,“Hooker sounds asif he has $100,000worth of sophisti-cated digital good-ies built in his chestand his throat. Yethis voice is quiet and muted, itstonal richness offset by a resid-ual stammer and blurred by thedeepest alluvial accents of theMississippi Delta.”

Murray also writes abouthow so many people do im-pressions of Hooker and thathis stuttering is a big part of it.“Anybody who tells you ananecdote about John LeeHooker as a young man –and Buddy Guy is the cur-rent champ, by a very shorthead indeed, of the HookerImpressionists League –will inevitably end up mim-icking his characteristicstutter.” Also, BernardBesman, the producer who firstrecorded Hooker, claims that theprimary reason for his decision wasthat he was intrigued by the sce-nario of a man who stuttered whenhe spoke, but not when he sang.

Reportedly in a spirit of self-parody,Hooker used an exaggerated stutter

when telling stories against himself. This good natured form of self-

parody is evident in Hooker’s clas-sic 1953 song “Stuttering Blues.”

In 1980, Hooker appearedand sang in the now classicmovie, The Blues Brothers.As a result, the look of John

Belushi’s character,Jake Blues, was di-rectly influenced byHooker’s trademark

sunglasses and soul patch.Though his stuttering reduced

to some degree in his adult life,Hooker is remembered byfriends as putting them at easeabout his stuttering by beingable to poke fun at his speech ina soft way. �

162376.qx8:newsletter 4/15/09 3:33 PM Page 13

News Briefs�Speakeasy SymposiumXXVII, May 1-3,2009, in Saddle Brook, NJ. For more infor-mation, contact Bob Gathman at 201-262-0895 or e-mail speakezusa@optonline.net.

�FRIENDS, the National Organization ofYoung People Who Stutter, July 23-26,2009, Tampa, Fla., www.friendswhostutter.org.

�National Stuttering AssociationConference - July 8 - 12, 2009, Scottsdale,Ariz., www.westutter.org.

�ELSA’s 7th Youth meeting - July 25-31,2009, Settle, England, e-mailelsa.europe@telia.com.

�6th World Congress on FluencyDisorders - International FluencyAssociation, Aug. 5-8, 2009, Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, www.theifa.org.

�BSA National Conference, Sept. 11-13, 2009, at the Harrow campus of theUniversity of Westminster, London,www.stammering.org.

�International Stuttering Awareness DayOnline Conference - Oct. 1 - 22, 2009. Freelyavailable and linked starting Oct. 1 atwww.stutteringhomepage.com.

�American Speech-Language andHearing Association Convention - Nov. 19-21, 2009, New Orleans, La., www.asha.org.

�14th Speak Easy Convention, AustralianSpeak Easy Association - Feb. 18-21, 2010,Sydney, Australia, www.speakeasy.org.au.

BooksBooks on Stuttering or Related Topics:�Only When I Talk by Bob Hubbert. 2007.Available online at www.amazon.com.

�Over the Side by Richard Wells, USNAFJ and USMCMerchant. 2008. For moreinformation, e-mail bwana@ameritech.net.

�Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand by ArtieKnapp. 2008. Available at www.amazon.com.

�Practical Intervention for EarlyChildhood Stammering by Elaine Kelmanand Alison Nicholas. (2008) SpeechmarkPublishing, Ltd. Milton Keynes, U.K.,www.speechmark.net.

�Stammering, Advice for All Ages by ReneeByrne and Louise Wright. (2008), SheldonPress, London, www.sheldonpress.co.uk.

�Speak Freely: Essential Speech Skillsfor School-Age Children Who Stutter byMark Allen, Ph.D., (2007) Speak FreelyPublications, Evanston, IL, www.cfst.com.

�Stuttering: An Integrated Approach toIts Nature and Treatment, Third Edition byBarry Guitar. 2006. Available fromLippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 800-638-3030, www.LWW.com.

�Beyond Stammering, Revised edition byDavid Maguire. (2008) Souvenir Press,London.

�Stuttering Recovery Personal andEmpirical Perspectives by Dale F.Williams. 2006. Available from LawrenceErlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ,www.erlbaum.com.

�Speech Therapy for the Severe OlderAdolescent and Adult Stutterer: A Programfor Change by George Helliesen. 2006.Available fromApollo Press, Newport News,VA, 800-683-9713, www.apollopress.com.

�The Child and Adolescent StutteringTreatment and Activity Resource Guide byPeter Ramig and Darrell Dodge. 2005.Available from Thomson Delmar Learning,Clifton Park, NY.

�Early Childhood Stuttering: ForClinicians by Clinicians by Ehud Yairi andNicoline Grinager Ambrose. 2005.Available from ProEd, Austin, TX, andwww.amazon.com.

�50 Great Activities for Children WhoStutter by Peter Reitzes. 2006. Available fromPro-Ed, Austin, TX, www.proedinc.com.

�Current Issues in Stuttering Researchand Practice by Nan Bernstein Ratner andJohn Tetnowski. 2006. Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates, Mahwah, NJ.

�Begaiement: Intervention preventiveprecoce chez le jeune enfant by Anne MarieSimon et al. 2005. Available from theAssociation Parole Begaiement,www.begaiement.org.

�Les begaiements: Histoire, psychologie,evaluation, varietes, traitements by AnneVan Hout and Francoise Estienne. Publishedby Masson, S.A., 120 boulevard SaintGermain, 75280 Paris Cedex 06, France.

�Forty Years After Therapy: One Man’sStory by George Helliesen, M.A. Availablefrom Apollo Press, Inc., 800-683-9713 orwww.apollopress.com.

�Sharing the Journey: Lessons from myStudents and Clients with Tangled Tonguesby Lon Emerick, Ph.D., available from theStuttering Foundation at 800-992-9392.

�Stuttering: Its Nature, Diagnosis, andTreatment, by Edward G. Conture, Ph.D.,published by Allyn & Bacon, NeedhamHeights, MA. (781) 433-8410.

�Successful Stuttering ManagementProgram, Second Edition, by DorvanBreitenfeldt, Ph.D., published by EWUPress, Cheney, WA, (509) 235-6453.

�Synergistic Stuttering Therapy: AHolistic Approach by Sister CharleenBloom and Donna K. Cooperman.Published by Butterworth Heineman,Woburn, MA.

�Stuttering Intervention: A CollaborativeJourney to Fluency Freedom by DavidAllen Shapiro, published by Pro-Ed,Austin, Texas. �

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

STUTTERINGFOUNDATION

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This newsletter is published quarterly. Pleasee-mail address changes and story ideas toinfo@stutteringhelp.org.

Volume18, Issue 2Renee Shepherd . . . . . . . . Editor/WriterScot Squires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Designer

Special thanks to Joan Warner, Patty Reed,Susie Hall, Pat Hamm, Lisa Hinton, andTerri Jones.

The Stuttering Foundationof America is a tax-exempt

organization under section501(c)(3) of the InternalRevenue Code and is classifiedas a private operating founda-tion as defined in section

4942(j)(3). Charitable contributionsand bequests to the Foundation aretax-deductible, subject to limitationsunder the Code.

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