Anne L. Foundas, M.D.and Edward G. Conture, Ph.D.

Editor’s note: The StutteringFoundation is pleased to supportthis new research.Our knowl-

edge of the bio-logical bases ofdevelopmentalstuttering hasbeen greatly en-hanced by recentresults of brainimaging andphys io log ica lstudies. Takentogether, thesecomplementarymethods havebegun to provideconverging evi-dence about thebrain regionsthat may be af-fected in indi-viduals whostutter. For example, there isstrong evidence that dysfunctions

Continued on page 12

Inside...�Rocket Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2�Bob Love documentary . . . . . . 3�SpeechEasy outside the lab . . . 3�Web site a summertime hit. . . . 4�SFA workshops reach out . . . . 6�Letters from young readers . . 10�New MySpace page . . . . . . . . 11�Interview with Eric Roberts . . 13

�

Edward G.Conture, Ph.D.

Initial studies of SpeechEasy

www.stutteringhelp.org • 1-800-992-9392 • www.tartamudez.org

THE STUTTERING FOUNDATIONA Nonprofit Organization Since 1947... Helping Those Who StutterFALL 2007

World congressunites groups

Anne Smith, Ph.D.,Purdue UniversityI am pleased to have this

opportunity to update youon the progress of thePurdue Stuttering Projectover the past year. Youmay recall from my earlierarticle that we are engagedin a longitudinal study ofyoung children who stutter andtheir normally fluent controls.

With funding from theNIH’s National Institute onDeafness and OtherCommunication Disorders,we have been recruiting 4and 5-year-olds, and wewill be following themyearly for a period of 5years (that is, if our projectis renewed — money is

very tight at NIH these days, so

Searching for predictors of chronic stuttering

Auditory cortex,altered auditoryfeedback anddevelopmentalstuttering

Anne L.Foundas, M.D.

Anne Smith, Ph.D.

Continued on page 2

Mark IrwinIn May, the InternationalStuttering Association, theumbrella organization repre-senting 45 self-help groupsthroughout the world, heldits 8th World Congress for

people who stutter.The event was held inCavtat, a picturesque coastaltown on the southern tip ofthe Republic of Croatia.Delegates from 43 coun-tries comprised the more

Continued on page 8Photos: Terrace of fortress in Dubrovnik. Top right: Joseph Lukong of Cameroon with a copy of the new Basic ClinicalSkills. Center: Mel Hoffman, awards chairman of the International Stuttering Association, presents the OutstandingService Award to SFA President Jane Fraser. Bottom: Jennifer Tseng of Taiwan and Zong-Shan Li of China discusstranslations of SFA materials.

Fraser honored in medieval setting

1-800-992-93922 www.stutteringhelp.orgYears

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Peter Reitzes, M.A., CCC-SLP,shares his comments on the newfilm Rocket Science not only as aspeech pathologist, but also as aperson who stutters. His insightsmay provide direction for thosewho want to see this film.

I saw Rocket Science and it isabsolutely a wonderful movie. Itreally felt good andvalidating to seesuch a likable char-acter as Hal (thehigh-schooler whostutters) struggle inall the same waysthat I struggled inhigh school.As far as being

appropriate forteens, Rocket Science certainlytouches on some difficult topics.Some of the people around Haltreat him as a broken person.When I was in Hal’s shoes, I cer-

tainly felt broken as well. I amworking nowwith a teen and I men-tioned the film to the family. I wasvery careful to make it clear to thefamily that this movie could triggersome painful memories and feel-ings in their son. A teen may needsupport digesting this film. Mybuddy and I who went to see it wereextremely moved by the film andreally needed to talk about it after-wards. It is funny, beautiful andhard all at the same time.One thing to keep in mind is that

Rocket Science is not a perfect end-ing story. It presents stuttering ashard and it ends with Hal finding

Jeffrey Blitz,who wrote and

directedRocket Science

keep your fingers crossed for us!).In our first year of the longitudi-

nal study, we have tested 34 chil-dren who stutter on an extensiveset of experimental protocols thatincludes recordingorofacial move-ments and muscleactivity duringspeech, testingbasic timing abilityin a hand clappingtask, and recordingthe electrical activ-ity of the brain(EEG) while thechildren watch a video about ayoung penguin named “Pingu.”We have analyzed some of our“year 1” data, and many excitingresults have come to light.I have space here to describe

one of these new findings. We in-cluded the clapping task in ourprotocol, because scientists study-ing motor behavior have used bi-manual hand clapping as a classi-cal way to examine the brain’sability to “keep time.”The children are asked to clap

their hands in time with ametronome beat. After clappingwith the beat for about 15 claps, thebeat goes off, and the children areasked to keep clapping until wehave about 30 unpaced claps. Weask the kids to do this several times.Our data analysis consists of an-

alyzing the unpaced claps, so thatwe can determine (1) if they werefaster or slower than the target ratethey were trying to maintain, and(2) how variable they were in keep-ing up this rate. So far, we have an-alyzed data from 17 children who

stutter (CWS) and 13 children whoare normally developing (CND).What we have found is that the

CWS and the CND have the sameaverage rate of clapping; bothgroups tend to speed up when thebeat goes off. Concerning the

variability of theirclapping, we com-pute a statistic thatreflects their vari-ability in percent.The range of vari-ability in percentfor the normally de-veloping childrenwas 5 to 13%.Interestingly, 10 of

the 17 CWS had variability percent-ages outside the range of the CND.These 10 CWS had greater variabili-ty percentages than any of the CND,and these ranged from 15 to 32%!From these early analyses, we con-clude that about 60% of 4 and 5-year-olds who are stuttering are un-usually poor at keeping time com-pared to their normally developingpeers.One overall goal of the project is

to be able to predict which of thechildren who are stuttering are mostlikely to develop a chronic stutter-ing problem. Are these childrenwho are poor at a basic timing taskat greater risk for chronic stuttering?Is this a sign that their young brainshave motor timing circuitry that isdeveloping atypically?These are some of the questions

we hope to be able to answer afterfollowing these children for fiveyears. I look forward to updatingyou again in the future as more ofour experiments reveal more aboutthe physiological characteristics ofthese stuttering children. �

... about 60% of4 and 5-year-oldswho are stutteringare unusually poorat keeping timecompared totheir normally

developing peers.

Smith Continued from front page

Rocket Scienceblasts off

The movie’s main character Hal gives aspeech in front of his class.

Jane Fraser and Joe Fulchermeet with U.S. CongressmanFrank R. Wolf, a longtime sup-porter of the StutteringFoundation. In 2006, the con-gressman drewattention to child-hood stuttering after he submit-ted an article about Tiger Woodsfrom the SFA newsletter to theCongressional Record. �

Continued on page 12

Bob Love has dreamt aboutbeing a great public speaker sincehis early days in BastropLouisiana, even though, as ayoung man, he could barely puttwo words together, let alonespeak a full sentence.In spite of his

severe stutteringdisability, BobLove, the son ofa sharecropper,rose to becomea Chicago BullsNBA superstar,whose recordswere eventuallysurpassed byMichael Jordan.Throughout hisentire athleticcareer, BobLove kept hisstuttering a se-cret from thefans who adoredhim, thinking hecould do his“talking” on thebasketball court.After a career

ending back in-jury he was toldby doctors thathe would havedifficulty walk-ing, let aloneplay the game heloved. He couldno longer hidehis inability tospeak, and hislife spiraled outof control.

Find Yourself ADream – The BobLove Story is aone hour docu-mentary about theinspirational truestory of Chicago Bulls legendarybasketball player, Bob "Butterbean"Love.Written and directed by awardwinning director, Jim White, itsmessage is about achieving one’sgoals, no matter how difficult, andthe importance of an education inreaching those goals. It chronicles

Bob Love’s battle to overcome hismost formidable opponent, his stut-tering, to become one of the mostsought after motivational speakersin the country.In Find Yourself A Dream, Bob’s

life is depicted through interviews,archival basket-ball gamefootage and on-location sceneswith familymembers, oldfriends, fans, andteammates.There are on-

camera inter-views with NBACommissionerDavid Stern;Chicago Bullsowner JerryR e i n s d o r f ;Chicago BullssuperstarMichaelJordan, and oth-ers. The docu-mentary also in-cludes a montageof positive andinspirational com-ments aboutwhatBob Love hasmeant to themand their sportfrom basketballgreats like OscarR o b e r t s o n ,Shaquille O’Neal,Bill Russell, andothers.A Web site,

www.findyourselfadream.com,will featureBob’s basketballstatistics, fan in-terviews andphotos, as wellas video and

original music from the DVD.For more information about the

documentary, Bob’s NationalSchool Speaking Tour, or the up-coming feature film “Butterbean,”please contact: Steve Kennedy orJay Rizzo at 312-368-0429, orinfo@americasfilmfund.com. �

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Recent study reportson SpeechEasy usewithin extra-clinical

environments

Documentary shares Bob Love’s story

Ryan Pollard, John B. Ellis,M.S., Don Finan, Ph.D., andPeter R. Ramig, Ph.D.University of Colorado - Boulder

Electronic devices that deliv-er altered auditory feedback(AAF) have been used for sev-eral decades to help reduce stut-tering (Bloodstein, 1995). TheSpeechEasy, introduced to con-sumers in 2001, is one of themore recent AAF devices avail-able to individuals who stutter.In contrast to the often conspic-uous and cumbersome nature ofearlier electronic fluency aids,the SpeechEasy is comparative-ly small and cosmetically pleas-ing, and thus more appealing tosome consumers.Recently, researchers at the

University of Colorado at Boulderexamined the effects of theSpeechEasy over six months ofcontinual use. The purpose of theproject was to gather Phase I treat-ment outcome research about theSpeechEasy in more naturalisticsettings. Unlike previousSpeechEasy research (e.g., Stuartet al., 2006), this study collectedperiodic speech samples outside ofthe laboratory to more accuratelyassess the device’s real-world ef-fectiveness. Subjects were record-ed while reading aloud, convers-ing with a researcher, and asking aquestion to a stranger. After amonth-long baseline phase, sub-jects wore a custom-fittedSpeechEasy device for fourmonths. After this treatmentphase, subjects continued to bemonitored for an additional month

Continued on page 8

These are behind the scene picturesfrom the documentary.

Bob Love speaks with SusanHamilton, his former therapist.Susan now leads the WesternWorkshop, see page 6.

Ryan Pollard, Peter R. Ramig, DonFinan, and John B. Ellis, M.S.

Several Stuttering Foundationpublic service ads (PSAs) arebeing printed in national publica-tions and aired on various radiostations. Browse through a copyof Ladies HomeJournal, Seventeen, orNational GeographicAdventure and youwill most likely see anSFA ad. Tune intoWZAK-FM 93.1,WJMO-AM 1490 inCleveland, Ohio, orWLS-AM 890 inChicago and listen forthe country music starsaying, “Hi, I’m MelTillis!” or 20/20 co-anchor John Stosselsaying, “If stutteringaffects you … call theStuttering Foundationfor help.”The Foundation provides several

sizes and versions of PSAs to meetthe target audience of the publica-tion. Popular PSAs are ones with“famous people” raising stutteringawareness. Among those featuredare Chicago Bulls legendary bas-ketball star Bob Love, wild-lifeconservationist Alan Rabinowitz,Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor NickBrendon, Annie Glenn, and states-man Winston Churchill “speakingout” on behalf of those who stutter.

Better Homes and Gardens, witha circulation ofmore than 7million,donated a full-page all-print ad stat-

ing, “There aremany proven, effec-tive ways to reduce stuttering.”Parents Magazine chose to run atwo-thirds page ad seen by morethan 2 million readers.

You might even seea public service ad forthe SFA on your nextUnited Airlines flightin Hemispheres.In addition PSAs haveappeared in Seventeen,CosmoGirl,BassGuitar,Frontiers, New YorkPost, Fortune, AARP,Penthouse, Learning,Good Housekeeping,Black Enterprise,Natural Health, andSavannah Magazine,as well as many, manyothers!

SFA is dedicatedto thanking each and

every one of the media outlets thatprovide space and time to raisingstuttering awareness.Radio station KMMS out of

Bozeman, Mont., recently e-mailed SFA saying, “Thanks forthe letter about our stations beingof assistance to your organiza-tion! I work with probably 200+non-profits nationally and local-ly and rarely do I get feedback onif what I do is catching an ear inthe listening audience. ThankYOU for the pat on the back andletting me know the PSA directorcan help make a difference!” �

4 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392

Media gives space and timeDid you know...• There were 1,500,000 hits inthe month of July alone atwww.stutteringhelp.org.• Highest volume date wasMonday, July 30 with 73,134 hits.• 5 a.m. – 7 a.m. is the time peri-od receiving the most SFA traffic.• SFA’s Spanish Web sitewww.tartamudez.org July hitsequaled 15,000.• Most viewed streaming videois Stuttering: Straight Talk forTeens.• Pages most often viewed arethe five streaming videos,Famous People Who Stutter,and the SFA Referral List.• Web site viewers are locatedall over the world, includingTurkey, India, Japan, Polandand many others. �

SFA Web site asummertime hit

Channel 3 focuseson stuttering

Yearsof Service60

Jane Fraser was recently a gueston WREG’s morning newscast.CBS’Memphis affiliate invited herto the studio to discuss the resourcesavailable for those who stutter.News anchorsAlex Coleman andApril Thompson also highlighted anumber of famous people who stut-ter and offered the Foundation’sWeb site as a great source of helpfor parents, teenagers and adultsseeking more information. �

Be among the first to spot aStuttering Foundation public ser-vice ads and help raise StutteringAwareness!Contest instructions:1. Clip out the StutteringFoundation PSA found in a mag-azine or newspaper.2. On an index card, write thename of the magazine andmonth/date of issue. Also printyour name, phone number, ad-dress and email address on the

card.3. Mail the PSA and the indexcard in an envelope to SFA.Stuttering Foundation, 3100Walnut Grove Road, Suite 603,Memphis, TN 38111-07494. The first notification of a newPSA from each publication eachmonth will receive an SFAT-shirt.5. Winners will be notified bymail.6. Contest runs from Oct. 1,2007, through Dec. 31, 2007. �

Be on the lookout — you could win

FALL 2007 51-800-992-9392Years

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The Stuttering Foundationis a proud participant of theCombined Federal Campaign.Please note our new number.CFC #11047

James Frickremembered

Spotlight shines on spokesmen

James V. Frick, Ph.D., speechpathologist and stuttering authorityat the Pennsylvania StateUniversity, passed away April 16.He was 84.Affected by a severe stuttering

problem as a child,he sought help fol-lowing his serviceduring World War IIand eventually be-came an associateprofessor of SpeechPathology at PennState, where heworked from 1951 until his retire-ment in 1984.Early in his career he helped es-

tablish the Penn State Speech andHearing Clinic, where he special-ized in the treatment of stutteringand aphasia.He graduated from St. Thomas

More High School in Philadelphiain 1939 and served in the U.S.Army Air Corps for three yearsduring World War II where he at-tained the rank of Sergeant. Heearned Bachelor’s and Master’sdegrees and then a Ph.D. inPsychology in 1951 from theUniversity of Iowa.He was the son of the late

James V.M. and Anna HickeyFrick. On June 20, 1953, he mar-ried Anna Netta Livingston, whosurvives him at home.During retirement, Dr. Frick

served as a volunteer with theVolunteer Income Tax Assistants,the Centre County, Pa., PlanningCommission, and the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Commission.He enjoyed golf, playing bridge,

reading, jazz music and crosswordpuzzles.In addition to his wife, he is

survived by two sons, James V.Frick III, of State College, Pa.,and Robert L. Frick and his wife,Karen, of Vienna, Va.; and threegranddaughters, Amy, Hannah,and Maggie.

Please see page 15 for a list ofgifts made in memory of Dr. Frick. �

James Frick

Stuttering Foundation spokes-men Mel Tillis, John Stossel, andAlan Rabinowitz have all madethe headlines recently.Country music superstar Tillis

has been selected for inductioninto the Country Music Hall ofFame this fall in the LifetimeAchievement category.Early in his career, Tillis stuttered

so severely that he couldn’t eventhank the audience at the end of aperformance. But ever since his roleas the curtain-puller for afirst-grade play,Tillis wouldn’tlet stutteringkeep him fromthe stage.Singing in

front of theclass was Tillis’first step to-ward legendaryfame as arecording artist,performer andsongwriter. Hishits include IAin’t Never,Good WomanBlues, I BelieveIn You, and Ruby, Don’t Take YourLove to Town.As he travels the country, he visits

cities where his radio PSA on stut-tering is being played daily, such asChicago, where WLS generated atremendous response to his PSA.John Stossel, co-anchor of 20/20,

joined SFAs Chairman’s Circle witha recent significant contribution tothe Foundation. This donation willfurther the cause of helping youngpeople and adults who stutter.Stossel has been touring the coun-

try this past year speaking to groupsand promoting his popular book

Myths, Lies, and DownrightStupidity:GetOut the Shovel—WhyEverything You Know Is Wrong.Conservationist Alan Rabinowitz

was recently featured in Forbes andThe Christian Science Monitor.

Forbes focused on Rabinowitz’exploring the Indo-Pacific region innorthern Burma, also known asMyanmar. He is one of only a hand-ful ofWesterners who have traveledin this area during the last century.“This is the most intact forest in

the entire Indo-Pacific region,with manyparts that arecompletely un-e x p l o r e d , ”Rabinowitz, ofthe WildlifeConservationSociety, toldForbes.

Rabinowitzis credited forlarge portionsof land beingdeclared na-tional parks.The Christian

Science Monitorfocused their

attention on Rabinowitz’ creatinghavens for tigers, jaguars, andleopards.Rabinowitz established the

Hukawng Valley Tiger Server innorthern Myanmar. The reserve isthe size of the state of Vermont.As he strives to make the world

safer for big cats, he is workingwithlocal populations, educating themon why it is important not to killthese animals.“He is credited with bringing

unlikely partners together for con-servation in various nations,” thenewspaper wrote. �

Photo courtesy of Seth HarrisonThe Journal News

Mel Tillis, AlanRabinowitz andJohn Stossel haveall served as SFAspokesmen.

6 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392Yearsof Service60

Susan Hamilton

Temperatures rose to over 100 degrees outside,while ideas sizzled inside at the first WesternWorkshop held in Portland, Oregon. The WWmoved from Seattle to Portland when Ellen Reuler,former 2003 WW participant volunteered to hostthe event at Portland State University where she isDirector of Clinical Services.Susan Hamilton and Jennifer Watson joined

forces at the podium for this five-day event where20 participants were chosen from across theUnited States. Watson and Hamilton’s goals forthis year’s workshop were to help the attendees’ toincrease their “comfortability,” competence andconfidence when treating children who stutter.“This group really impressed me in that they

were positive and so supportive of each other dur-ing the learning process,” commented Watson.Both presenters agreed that the participants

were willing to step out of their comfort zonesand build on past experiences to learn more aboutproviding therapy to children who stutter. “Ittakes courage to practice newly learned skills infront of your peers,” stated Hamilton.The traditional wine and cheese reception was

hosted byMary and Steve Brannan on their beau-tiful houseboat on the banks of the ColumbiaRiver.One workshopper deemed the event an amazing

experience.Another indicated that it was a wonder-ful opportunity and that she was honored to havebeen a part of it. A third attendee summed it upwhen she said “the workshop was an unforgettableexperience. I feel more confident and competent al-ready….Now to go and practice!” �

Attendees say workshops are

Western Workshopleaders SusanHamilton, JenniferWatson, and EllenReuler.

Mike Jedlicka and Jill Dolata show off an SFA workbook.Glenn Weybright, a workshopper from 2002, treatsthe 2007 workshoppers to a kayak outing.

Scenes from thehouseboat party.

Western workshoppers gather for a group photo. Front row: Vinita Rajah,Mike Jedlicka, Jane Fraser, Lelisa Balderama, and Pam Hubbard. Secondrow: Pam Thuman, Anne Terry, Deborah Carter, Marsha Hundley, ShannonRichins, and Ellen Reuler. Third row: Mercedes Delaney, Jill Dolata, DebbieLivesey, Vicki Andre, Lori Matthews, Jaime Hardin, Vicky Edwards, TaraRoehl, Leigh Jones, and Jennifer Watson. Fourth row: Adam Heiner, UteConly, Susan Hamilton, and Glen Weybright

Western Workshopheats up Portland

FALL 2007 71-800-992-9392Yearsof Service60

Diane ParrisWhile the Stuttering Foundation ofAmerica was celebrating its 60th

anniversary, New England celebrated its 10th biannual workshop host-ed by Boston University. Participants gathered from nineteen statesfrom California to New Jersey, and welcomed one international partic-ipant from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Experience among the group was asdiverse as their geographical origins. From June 20 – 24th, however,these twenty speech-language pathologists shared one thing in com-mon: increasing their expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of chil-dren who stutter.Coordinated by Diane Parris, MS, CCC/SLP, a team of extraordinary

researchers and master clinicians provided the right blend of informa-tion and skills training to increase participant’s confidence and compe-tence in providing an integrated approach to fluency therapy. The pro-grambeganwith a review of contemporary theory, current research, andassessment procedures led by Dr. Edward Conture, Professor andDirector of Graduate Studies at Vanderbilt University. Focus on treat-ment of preschoolers and partnership with parents/families was provid-ed byDr. Sheryl Gottwald,Assistant Professor at the University of NewHampshire. Direct skills training beganwith the unique contributions ofDr. David Luterman in the area of counseling children who stutter andtheir families beginning with listening deeply and from the heart.Finally a leading specialist in the field, Adriana DiGrande, MSCCC/SLP, presented on the integration of cognitive, affective, motor,and social aspects of fluency therapy for the school-age child.Diane, Sheryl, andAdriana coached participants in producing easy-

relaxed speech models, cancellations, and pull-outs, and the programculminated in the opportunity for participants to practice these skillsin mock therapy sessions with children gathered from the hostingclinicians’ caseloads and their siblings. Many commented that thistype of ‘hands on’ learning was a highlight of the program for them.Most participants will not only be putting their new learning to useimmediately with their own clients, but will also be offering in-servicetraining to colleagues in upcoming months. Spreading the knowledgeand skills provided in the regional workshops is essential to the mis-sion of the Foundation. Look for the next New England Workshop tobe held in June 2009. �

an ‘unforgettable experience’New England celebrates 10th workshop

New England workshoppers havetheir group picture taken. Frontrow: Angela Horne, Jane Fraser,Sue Basta, and Claudia Holcomb.Second row: Nancy Patriacca,Wanda Pritekel, AdrianaDiGrande, Kavita Kaul, BrendaSpredding, and Sheryl Gottwald.Third row: Jennifer Shubin, KathiShute, Julianne Weckel, MelisaKennelly, Stefanie Chenkin, RozieMatthews, Erin Jarvis, andDarlene Sommer. Back row: JoeFulcher, Dorothy Wise, AndreaStach, Melinda Kuehn, DianeParris, Blair O'Gorman, andMeghan Krodel.

Attendeesenjoya reception.

without the device in place.The SpeechEasy was general-

ly effective in reducing stutter-ing when immediately fit, butsignificant reductions in stut-tering were not consistentlymaintained across four monthsof treatment.Relatively more stuttering re-

duction occurred during oral read-ing than during the conversationor question tasks. Individual re-sponses varied greatly with regardto both fluency improvement andpersonal impressions of the de-vice. For example, many subjectsreported that a promising feature ofthe SpeechEasy was its effective-ness while using the telephone. Incontrast, the most frequently re-ported drawback was perceivedbackground noise in certain situa-tions (see Table).At the end of the study, subjects

were then surveyed in order to gaininsight as to their satisfaction withwearing the SpeechEasy. Regardingultimate purchasing decision, four ofthe 11 subjects who began the exper-iment elected to purchase their de-

vices at a substantial discount aftercompleting the study. Three subjectsdid not purchase the device, butreplied that they would continue to

use the SpeechEasy if it were givento them free of charge. A final threesubjects decided not to buy the de-vice and reported that they wouldnot continue to use it even if it weregiven to them at no charge.Although the group findings in

this study revealed no overalltreatment effect for the device,this is a qualified conclusion forseveral reasons. First, individualsubjects did benefit from wearingthe SpeechEasy during certainspeech tasks and/or reported satis-

faction with the device, indicatingthat the SpeechEasy may beviewed as a viable treatment op-tion by some who stutter.Furthermore, the subjects whoparticipated in the study sampledtheir devices at no cost and mayhave conceivably been less moti-vated and emotionally invested ina positive outcome than thosewho actively seek out and pur-chase a SpeechEasy. Finally, sub-jects in this study were trainedand encouraged to use activetechniques such as easy vocal on-sets or initial sound prolongationsas needed to initiate voicingwhen wearing the SpeechEasy;however, additional stutteringtherapy was not provided.Because recent clinical evidenceindicates that including traditionalstuttering therapy may improveSpeechEasy outcomes (Armson etal., 2006), it appears that in atleast some cases, the expertiseprovided by a certified speech-language pathologist to provideadditional stuttering treatmentmay be needed in order to maxi-mize benefits derived fromSpeechEasy use. �

8 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392Years

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Study Continued from page 3

than 300 people who stutter, speechpathologists and family and friendswho attended this event. A highlightwas the Congress gala dinner whichwas held in the nearby medievaltown of Dubrovnik. It was the sceneof formal speeches and awards in-cluding the presentation of the ISA’sOutstanding Contribution Award tothe SFA’s Jane Fraser.In presenting the award to Fraser,

Melvin Hoffman of ISA said, “Noone has done more to further thecause of helping those who stutter."“It is a thrill to receive this

award that recognizes our work onbehalf of those who struggle dailywith stuttering,” Fraser said.The first honorary lifetime mem-

bers of the ISA are Fraser andJudith Kuster, of Minnesota StateUniversity, Mankato, and creator ofthe Stuttering Home Page,www.stutteringhomepage.com.

Following this event, there can beno doubt that the world has advancedin its understanding of stuttering aswell as strengthening the bonds of in-ternational cooperation.The next triennial World

Congress will be held in Beijing,China in 2010. �

Suzana Jelcic-Jaksic,president of theCroatian Associationfor People WhoStutter, acted asthe governor of theCongress. Hereshe speaks at the14th century fortress,setting for the galadinner.

Poster producedby the Croatian

Hinko FreundSupport Groupto raise funds

for their work.

John Ellis, JudyKuster and RyanPollard in frontof SFA poster ofFamous PeopleWho Stutter.

Congress Continued from front page Celia Grussof Paris,France,and VilmaMakauskiene,of Lithuania,at the SFAbooth.

Retiring BoardChair MarkIrwin, DDS,

receivedan ISA

DistinguishedService Award

Presenters and discussion group leaders Barry Guitar, Karen Rizzo,Diane Games, Lisa Scott, Kevin Eldridge, Kristin Chmela, PatriceCarothers, Jane Fraser, and Mary Mantilla.

PresentersBarry Guitar andKristin Chmela.

SLPs have an opportunity toexchange ideas over lunch.

Lisa Scott, Ph.D.The Cincinnati Airport Marriott

was the setting for the StutteringFoundation’s annual summer clin-ical conference. Although such aconference is held each summer,2007 marked the first time the pro-gram focused exclusively onpreschool children who stutter.The response to this change wastremendous: 74 participants trav-eled from 21 different states andCanada to learn about and sharetheir experiences in working withyoung children.Participants heard state-of-the-

art presentations from BarryGuitar and Kristin Chmela on bestpractices for determining whethera young child is stuttering, assess-ing the child’s priority for treat-ment, strategies for implementingboth indirect and direct treat-ments, and working with families.Guided practice sessions were in-

corporated across all topics in theconference and gave attendees theopportunity to practice and refineskills in decision-making, settingtreatment goals, and counselingparents. Small group guided prac-tice leaders included PatriceCarothers, Kevin Eldridge, DianeGames, Karen Rizzo, MaryMantilla, and Bill Murphy.Presenters profiled children who

stutter through the use of video seg-ments and examples of child re-sponses, enhancing the explanationof concepts being discussed. Theaudience responded enthusiastical-ly to these strategies as they facili-tated greater understanding of thecontent being discussed. It was re-inforcing for many clinicians tohave the opportunity to see tech-niques and ideas being demonstrat-ed as well to as ask questions ofleading experts in stuttering.Evaluation comments indicated

that the conference’s singularfocus on preschool children wasboth refreshing and needed. “I’veattended many conferences thatmentioned preschoolers, butnever addressed this populationfor any length of time that wasmeaningful to me and my prac-tice. Thank you, thank you!”In addition, participants appreci-

ated the presenters’ and group lead-ers’ warm styles and accessibility:“It was wonderful being able to askquestions and talk with the speakersand group leaders with ease.” Theintegration of lectures with guidedpractice also drew positive feed-back and continue to be one of thestrengths of the Foundation’s clini-cal conferences. “Thank you for anoutstanding conference! I know Iwill be a better SLP because I at-tended this conference. The formatwith lecture and guided practicewas outstanding!” �

Best Practices in Preschool Stuttering: an overwhelming success

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Zach’s story about stutteringDear SFA:I do not like stuttering because

some people make fun of me some-times. I do not like stuttering but Iam getting much better at it. I do notlike stuttering because I get stuck ona word and it takes awhile before Ican say the word clearly. I do notlike stuttering because it makes mesay words over and over again and itmakes me mad when that happens.Zachary, 9Reedsburg, Wis.

A future movie starDear SFA:Some of the things I like to do

are video games and watching TV.Sometimes my speech is the

best when I’m whispering qui-etly. My friends do not mindmy stuttering a lot. And myspeech is not that good when Iam shy, nervous, or I am infront of a large amount of peo-ple. And on Monday at school Igo to my speech teacher. She isgood with her speech. My momsays some day I will be a goodtalker.My grandmom likes music

and she says that a director willwant me for movie or singingroles.Dontae, 9Cheltenham, Pa.

SLP helps JohnDear SFA:I don’t mind stuttering very

badly. It’s not like it’s illegal tostutter. But I don’t like it when Ican’t let the words out. Robert,my speech therapist, helps melearn about stuttering. Oh, and bythe way, I am John. And I’m 8 3/4years old.John, 8East Charleston, VT

Video for young childrenDear SFA:I am currently a graduate student

at College Misericordia (Dallas,PA), where I am pursuing my mas-ter’s degree in speech-languagepathology as well as my teachercertification.I recently created an informational

video for my graduate level fluencycourse. I did the voices, danced inthe costumes, shot and edited thewhole piece. This 5-minute creationis to be shown to younger school-aged children who are having trou-bles with stuttering. Here is the link:www.vimeo.com/clip:219933Sincerely,Erik X. RajDallas, Pa.

Teen says exercises helpDear SFA:Hi, my name is Brandi. I’m 15years old and had a stutteringproblem all my life. It has gotten alot better. I’ve learned how to pro-nounce the letters easy for theword to come out right.These exercises helped me a lot

from then to now. I stutter when I gettoo excited, mad or sad, but some-times I stutter when I don’t talk a lotthat day then when a time comes for

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

Dear SFA: Reader Response

Tony, of Yakima, Wash., drewthis picture and included the fol-lowing caption:

Stuttering is not that bad. I don’treally care that I stutter. The stut-tering ghost comes and makes mestutter. I go to speech to fight thestuttering ghost. I practice eyecontact, smooth talking, and goodrelaxation.

Picture perfectChristopher of Marlboro, N.J.,

drew this picture. It says,“I don’t care what people sayor if they laugh when I stutter.

I am happy being myself. Stutteringis a good experience for me

because life is sometimes hard.”

Do you have artwork to share? E-mailit to us at info@stutteringhelp.org.

Continued on page 11

me to talk the stuttering tries to come.When I was younger, my stutter-

ing sounded like this “d,d, do, dog.”But now it’s like bumpy wordssometimes. Most of the time I runout of breath which I try to controlby taking my time.When I was younger in the fifth,

sixth and seventh grade, I wouldget mad at my teachers when theyasked me to read.Sometimes when I felt as if I could

read I would volunteer. I read that alot of celebrities have stuttering prob-lems in their life, but James EarlJones ismy favorite because he playsMufausa in The Lion King, and TheLionKing ismy favoritemovie. I sayto myself I will try to succeed in mystuttering because I really want to bea veterinarian when I get out of highschool. Now going to the 10th gradeI will try harder to my fullest and tryto succeed.BrandiE-mail

Poem wins awardsDear SFA:I saw my name in your summer

newsletter and wanted to thankyou. And my poem won first placeat district and an award of excel-lence in the state level competition.Thank you for everything,

AliciaVirginia Beach, Va.

Editor: Congratulations on yourawards!

Kids enjoy ‘cool’ brochureDear SFA:First, I just wanted to say thank

you for your excellent Web site.It’s so nice to be able to point par-ents and professionals toward aWeb site with good information.Secondly, I wish you could have

seen the reactions when I gavecopies of the celebrities who stutterbrochure to several grade school kidswho stutter. They thought it was so‘cool’ to see Tiger Woods, MarilynMonroe and James Earl Jones.Kari PetersonE-mail �

FALL 2007 111-800-992-9392Letters Continued from page 10

Yearsof Service60

Eva Woolwine of Ashland,Kan., is on the go as al-ways, but this busy galchecked in with us andagreed to manage ournew MySpace page!We first met Eva in the

Summer 2005 StutteringFoundation newsletterwhen she was the 18year-old reigning MissGarden City and on herway to the Miss Kansas pageant.Since then, she’s been in and

out of pageants receiving acco-lades, pursuing her education,and speaking out tirelessly toeducate the public about stut-tering. She is living proof thatstuttering does not have to holdyou back!Having graduated lastMay from

Pratt Community College with anAssociate’s degree, Eva is attend-ing Northwestern State UniversityinAlva, Oka., this fall. Her goal isa teaching degree in elementary ed-ucation. In addition to baby-sittingand working part-time in her dad’slaw firm, this past summer Eva

worked at a local preschool forchildren with specialneeds. She told us, “One ofthe little boys in my classstuttered. I enjoyed work-ing with him and encour-aging him. It showed methat teaching really is mycalling.”Eva tells us she still hasmany opportunities forspeaking engagements

and is able to inform and educatethe public about stuttering.She also attended the National

Stuttering Association conven-tion last summer with her familyin Atlanta. “It’s a good chance tooffer and receive support alongside other stutterers. And that’swhy I’m so excited to create andmanage the Foundation’sMySpace page! One of the goalsis to offer young people andteens a chance to share experi-ences, feelings, and helpful in-formation for success!”At this rate, Eva may one day

join our long list of FamousPeople Who Stutter! �

Eva launches MySpace page

Eva Woolwine

Web site is: http://groups.myspace.com/stutteringfoundation

Cameron Francek has spent hissummer running in honor of the 3million Americans who stutter in aneffort to raise awareness of stuttering.Cameron says, “I am a stutterer. I be-lieve people don’t fully understandthis communication/motor disorder.”SFA applauds his efforts that are

sure to educate people all alonghis 300 miles path!Therefore, he took on the task of

running 300 miles (approximately5 miles/day) to raise moneythrough pledges and donations forthe Stuttering Foundation. At theend of this journey, he plans to runthe Detroit Marathon.Cameron is no stranger to a busy

life. Currently he is a student atMichigan State University studyingCommunicative Sciences andDisorders and is an activemember of

the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. As ahigh school student, he was captainof both the Baseball and Golf teams.“I would not be the person I am

todaywithout my family, my friendsand many speech pathologists withwhom I have beenworking since the1st grade. I have decided to try andgive back. While my efforts and do-nations may be small on a largerscale, it is something I need andwant to do.” says Cameron.Through his efforts, Cameron

has raised and donated $1,435 tothe Foundation. This gift willkeep on giving as it helps otherswho struggle with stuttering.SFA sends a big thank you to

Cameron as well as best wishesfor his marathon run.

Please see page 15 for gifts inhonor of Cameron. �

Runner on the move to support SFA

12 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392Years

of Service60

in auditory cortical brain regionsmay contribute to developmentalstuttering. Related to these find-ings, numerous investigators havestudied how altered auditory feed-back may influence speech fluen-cy in individuals with develop-mental stuttering (e.g., Armson,Kiefte, Mason, & DeCroos, 2006;Stuart, Kalinowski, Armson,Stenstrom & Jones, 1996; VanRiper, 1973, pp. 116-139). Thesealterations have involved suchprocedures as low-pass and high-pass auditory masking (e.g.,Conture, 1974), delayed auditoryfeedback (DAF) (Van Riper,1973), and frequency altered feed-back (FAF) (Armson et al., 2006).To greater or lesser degrees, thesevarious alterations in speaker’sauditory feedback for speech havebeen shown to reduce stutteringduring reading as well as conver-sational speech. However, what isstill unknown is whether there arepredictable relationships betweenauditory cortical brain regions(structure and function) andchanges in stuttering to altered au-ditory feedback.In our first volumetric MRI

study of developmental stutteringwe found structural anomalieswithin a discrete brain region – aportion of auditory temporal cor-tex (Foundas et al, 2001). Otherstudies have found atypical acti-vation-deactivation in this samebrain region and atypical physio-logical responses when adultswho stutter are compared to adultswho do not stutter (for review,Brown et al, 2005). In a subse-quent study we found that adultswith developmental stuttering andatypical auditory temporal anato-my had enhanced fluency withDAF, but adults with develop-mental stuttering and typicalanatomy showed less improve-ment under conditions of DAF(Foundas et al, 2004).Although alteration in auditory

feedback for speech appears effec-tive, at least in the short term, forsome individuals who stutter, thereis a limited understanding of the

means by which stuttering changesas a result of alterations in speak-ers’ air-borne auditory feedbackfor speech and language. With re-cent advances in digital technolo-gy, however, one such device hasbeen widely marketed and empiri-cally studied, that is, theSpeechEasy (2001).The SpeechEasy is a small de-

vice which looks and fits like ahearing aid. This device works inessence by “playing a copy” of theperson’s own speech in their earafter shifting the pitch as well ascreating a temporal delay in theacoustic output of their speechproduction. According toSpeechEasy’s associated market-ing literature, such adjustments oralterations in auditory feedbackfor speech supposedly mimic theeffects of choral reading. One em-pirical study (Armson et al., 2006)showed that the SpeechEasy re-duced stuttering events by 49%,36%, and 74% respectively forconversation, monologue, andreading. Fluency was even moreenhanced in all speaking condi-tions with the instruction to delib-erately prolong vowels.At present, there are several

unanswered questions: How doesthe SpeechEasy device work atthe level of the auditory cortex?How does the SpeechEasy devicerelate to brain anatomy and func-tion? Our research group is inter-ested in investigating these im-portant questions. Our researchgroup at Tulane, in collaborationwith Dr. Edward G. Conture andcolleagues at Vanderbilt, are con-ducting pilot studies to objective-ly examine the SpeechEasy in asmall group of adults with persis-tent developmental stuttering.Overall, results of this study

should provide crucial, objectiveinformation for further, larger-scale study of this device, partic-ularly relative to how cortical ac-tivity and structure relates tothose who do versus those whodo not benefit from using the de-vice. The proposed studies haveconsiderable theoretical and clin-ical significance. The proposedstudies should provide a biologi-

cal framework that will allow usto learn more about the structureand function of auditory corticalregions in adults who do and donot stutter. Furthermore, it isthought that such studies maylead to more targeted interven-tions using the SpeechEasy tohelp those individuals with de-velopmental stuttering seemingmost able to receive benefit fromsuch treatment.ReferencesArmson, J., Kiefte, M., Mason, J., De Croos,

D. (2006). The effects of SpeechEasy on stut-tering frequency in laboratory conditions.Journal of Fluency Disorders, 31, 137-152.Brown S., Ingham R.J., Ingham, J.C.,

Laird, A.R., Fox, P.T. (2005). Stuttered andfluent speech production: an ALE meta-anal-ysis of functional neuroimaging studies.Human Brain Mapping, 25, 105-17.Conture, E. (1974). Some effects of noise

on the speaking behavior of stutterers.Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 17,714-723.Foundas, A.L., Bollich AM, Corey, D.,

Hurley, M., Heilman, K. (2001). Anomalousanatomy of speech-language areas in adultswith persistent developmental stuttering.Neurology, 57, 207-215.Foundas, A.L., Bollich, A.M., Feldman. J.,

Corey, D.M., Hurley, M., Heilman, K.M.(2004). Atypical planum temporale anatomyin stuttering: Relationship to delayed audito-ry feedback. Neurology. 63: 1640-1646.Stuart, A., Kalinowski, J., Armson, J.,

Strenstrom, R., Jones, K. (1996). Fluencyeffect of frequency alternations ofplus/minus one-half and one-quarter octaveshifts in auditory feedback of people whostutter. Journal of Speech and HearingResearch, 39, 396-401.Van Riper, C. (1973). The Treatment of

Stuttering. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall, Inc. �

Auditory cortex Continued from front page

ways to challenge himself, butthe stuttering is still hard.Looking back at my teen

years, I am not sure how Iwould have responded to see-ing the movie because I wasin such denial about my stut-tering. However, I wouldhave been able to relate to somuch of the film because Halused all of the “tricks” that Igrew up using.Hal is a very likable charac-

ter. He is the good guy, thewitty teen, funny, smart, withgreatness waiting to burstout. A very touching movie. �

Movie Continued from page 2

An interviewwith actorEric Roberts

Libraries putSFA materialson display

Q: At what age do you remember first being aware that you spokedifferently?A: I can’t remember not being aware. In school, when we used to goaround the table, each reading a paragraph, I’d count ahead and tryto memorize my paragraph.

Q: Is there any history of stuttering in your family?A: There wasn’t that I knew of. I’ve heard that my mother stutters.Somehow, I don’t hear it.

Q: Your daughter Emma definitelyhad a breakthrough role in this sum-mer’s hit movie “Nancy Drew.” Whenshe was a child did you worry shemight develop a stuttering problem?A: Never thought about it with Emma.

Q: Over the years, Hollywood has still produced movies which portray peo-ple who stutter in a negative light. Why do you think Hollywood still cranksout movies like these?A: Hollywood is basically immature and insecure.

Q: You made “Best of the Best” with James Earl Jones. Did you ever discussstuttering with him?A: I can’t actually remember if James and I discussed it. But I sense wehave a lot in common.

Q: What was your single most embarrassing moment as a person who stutters?A: Actually it was on a recent late night talk show. I got on a stuttering jagand the audience got uncomfortable and started laughing. I stayed relaxed,but I didn’t have the presence of mind, until afterwards, to acknowledge thestutter and put the audience at ease.

Q: If you could give any piece of advice to a young person who stutters, whatwould it be?A: The same advice I give to everyone, which is to do the ongoing work of selfacceptance.

Q: Your name has long been on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People WhoStutter. What was your reaction when you saw all the famous names on thelist? Were you surprised to see some names on there?A: I was surprised to see some of the names there.

Q: When you were growing up, did you have any people who stutter as rolemodels?A: Actually, that would have been great. But no.

A list of Famous People Who Stutter is available at www.stutteringhelp.org. �

Q&ACELEBRITY CORNER

Libraries across the UnitedStates helped the StutteringFoundation educate the publicabout stuttering by making dis-plays for National StutteringAwareness Week in May. TheFoundationworks hard toget the wordout that thereis help andhope for any-one who stut-ters as well asfor their fam-ilies, friends,teachers, andemployers.Some li-

braries sharedphotos of their displays.The Rensselaer Library in Indiana

made a beautiful, eye-catching dis-play on a shelving system that lookslike a garden fence with StutteringFoundation materials and enlargedpictures of celebrities who stutter.The Jefferson Parish Library in

Louisiana chose to include bookswritten by authors who stutteredwith the Foundation’s materials.The Yonkers Public Library,

Riverfront Branch in NewYork cre-ated a display outside their elevatorsthat included SFAvideos andDVDsavailable for the public to check out.The Union County Library in

Georgia displayed a poster madefrom Stuttering Foundationbrochures that included some-thing for teachers, employers, andparents as well as Myths AboutStuttering, and Tips for Talkingwith Someone Who Stutters. Theposter, Famous People WhoStutter, was the focal point ofmany of the displays.Libraries typically coincided

their displays with StutteringAwareness Week. However, UnionCounty Library in Georgia dis-played their poster for a month! �

FALL 2007 13Years

of Service60

16 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392

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

1-800-992-9392 ● 1-800-967-7700

www.stutteringhelp.org www.tartamudez.orginfo@stutteringhelp.org

THE

STUTTERINGFOUNDATION �

A Nonprofit OrganizationSince 1947 — Helping Those Who Stutter

This newsletter is published quarterly.Please e-mail address changes andstory ideas to info@stutteringhelp.org.

Volume16, Issue 2Jane Fraser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EditorScot Squires . . . . . Writer/DesignerPatty Reed . . . . . . . . . .Proofreader

Special thanks to Joan Warner,Renee Shepherd, Susie Hall, PatHamm, Lisa Hinton, Anne

Edwards, Carol Ecke,and Roberta Brugge.

Yearsof Service60

The Stuttering Foundation of America isa tax-exempt organization under sec-tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal RevenueCode and is classified as a private op-erating foundation as defined in section4942(j)(3). Charitable contributions andbequests to the Foundation are tax-deductible, subject to limitations underthe Code.

Online conference toexplore stutteringThe 10th annual International

Stuttering Online Conferenceopens October 1st and climaxeson the 22nd, the day designatedas International StutteringAwareness Day. The onlineconference will be open at thetop of the Stuttering Home Page,www.stutteringhomepage.com,fromOctober 1 - 22, 2007, and isaccessible to anyone with a con-nection to the Internet. �

Swish now helpsSpanish-speaking kidsStuttering: For Kids, By Kids is

available in Spanish.This DVD features children in-

teracting with an an-imated basketballnamed Swish.Kids re-

count howthey handle chal-lenges such as teas-ing, speaking in classand teaching othersabout stuttering.Swish, a lively

and engaging char-acter designed by students at PurdueUniversity, narrates the video. Thechildren who star range in age fromfirst grade to high school, and theyoffer frank and sometimes differentviews of stuttering.The original version premiered

in 2004. Now, thanks to MayInternational Productions andLisette M. Betancourt, M.A.,CCC-SLP, of Miami Children’sHospital, the film has been re-leased in Spanish.Free streaming video of the 12-

minute film will soon be availableonline at www.tartamudez.org andwww.stutteringhelp.org. The DVDwill also be available free of chargeto all public libraries.

New cluttering DVDnow available

This 42-minute DVD, writtenand narrated byFlorence Myers,Ph.D., AdelphiUniversity, andKenneth O. St.Louis, Ph.D.,West VirginiaUn i v e r s i t y,features peo-ple who clutterand clearly il-lustrates the essence of clutteringas well as the problems that oftenaccompany it.Strategies and suggestions fordiagnosis and treatment of clutter-ing are provided for speech-lan-guage pathologists.

Book’s characterovercomes stutteringIn his latest book Cobra Strike,author Sigmund Brouwer writesabout a young manwho deals with hisstuttering.“I wrote it to en-courage kids whostutter, and to helpkids who don’t facethis problem to betterunderstand the chal-lenges,” Brouwer said.The book is available through thepublisher, Orca Book Publishers,www.orcabook.com. It is also soldon Amazon.com.

In other news...�Dave Germeyer offers a repairservice for the Edinburgh Masker.Contact him via e-mail at dgerm-eye@earthlink.net, write G.D.Germeyer, 306 S. Baltimore St.,Dillsburg, PA 17019-1011, or call717-432-3103.�The documentaryUnspeakableis about something Winnipeg film-maker John Paskievich knowsfirsthand: stuttering.His production Unspeakableexplores the everyday traumaendured by those who stutter. Heinterviews people who stutter,and even explores treatmentsand therapies.For more information, pleasecontact the National Film Boardof Canada at 800-542-2164 orvisit www.nfb.ca. �

THE

STUTTERINGFOUNDATIONDVD No. 9700

Cluttering

Thanks to Rita Thurman and a helpfulstaff, the SFA booth at the NorthCarolina Speech-Hearing-LanguageAssociation conference was a success.