Continuing Education in Stuttering: A Menu of Options

By Lisa Scott, Ph.D.
The Florida State University

The Stuttering Foundation is working hard to educate therapists about stuttering and how to be effective in working with those who stutter.

Therapists are required by state licensing boards to complete continuing education credits. The Stuttering Foundation saw this as an opening to not only provide continuing education programs that are effective but also to provide them at a reasonable cost so that everyone can benefit.

One way of providing continuing education is through workshops around the country. Therapists apply to attend the workshops and are selected on the basis of interest in developing skills in stuttering, prior professional experiences, and willingness to share the information with other colleagues in the workplace. Each 5-day workshop averages 25-30 continuing education units.

Also, therapists can develop their knowledge and skills in stuttering through self-study continuing education programs. Currently, eight courses are offered by the Foundation: preschool stuttering therapy, counseling skills, cluttering, and working with school-age children. Our newest DVD, Tools for Success: A Cognitive Behavior Therapy Taster, will become the latest self-study CEU by year end.

In addition, the Foundation supports continuing education in stuttering through collaboration with various organizations. As an example, in 2009 SFA helped sponsor and provided CEUs for 3 regional workshops, the annual convention organized by Friends: The Association of Young People Who Stutter; an in-service for Palm Beach County (FL) Schools; and an intensive clinical training course at a camp for children who stutter in Illinois.

During the past twelve months, approximately 1,600 therapists were involved in a workshop, self-study course, or collaborative offering sponsored by the Foundation, translating into more than 20,000 hours of continuing education in stuttering! As a result, countless numbers of children, teens, and adults who stutter have been helped with more effective therapy.        

Editor’s Note: Donors are often curious about the ways in which their generous funds are used. One important way is to provide quality continuing education activities for speech-language pathologists. The Foundation has been an ASHA-approved CEU provider since 2000.