Blogs

May 18, 2015

Therapy for Preschool Children Who Stutter and Government Policy

UPDATE: As we approach the end of Stuttering Awareness Week, news broke that Speech Pathology Australia’s (SPA) government proposal to reimburse only one type of stuttering treatment has been declined by the Australian Government.

March 9, 2015

Problem with “One Size Fits All”

Speech Pathology Australia’s proposal to the Australian government to provide reimbursement could be helpful in providing affordable treatment for pre-schoolers who stutter. However, I believe that the negatives outweigh the positives.

December 26, 2014

Reflections on 2014

As we approach the end of 2014, I thought I’d share with you the best bits of what I’ve learnt from the people I have worked with and the books I have read over the year.

October 29, 2014

Stuttering is Like Tennis

For people who stutter, stuttering can be like a tennis match. Tennis can be gruelling, mentally draining as well as rewarding (when you play well!).

August 5, 2014

5 TED Talks for People Who Stutter

I don’t know about you, but I love a good TED talk. There are some brilliant minds around the world and it is inspiring to listen to people talk about something they are so passionate about.

June 16, 2014

Teens Speak Up

Back in May, I facilitated a weeklong intensive course for 13-17 year olds who stutter. Four boys from various parts of New Zealand signed up for a course I based on what I observed at the Michael Palin Centre last summer.

April 28, 2014

Dr. Sheehan’s Stuttering Iceberg Analogy

Dr. Joseph Sheehan’s iceberg analogy was recently featured on the Stuttering Foundation’s Facebook page with a massive response from the public. As I prepare to facilitate a weeklong intensive course for teenagers who stutter, it is timely to discuss the significant contribution of the stuttering iceberg. Sheehan’s main message was “Don’t avoid, don’t’ hide, don’t deny your stuttering."

March 3, 2014

The Other Half – Supporting Partners and Spouses of People Who Stutter

Often under-acknowledged and under-used, partners and spouses of people who stutter play an important role in the “recovery process” of adults who stutter. Recently, I experienced this when my adult client, Joe brought his fiancée to a therapy session with him. It was courageous moment for Joe, to be able to show a different side of him to the person he was going to get married and openness to vulnerability that many would shy away from.

December 19, 2013

The Gift of Empathy

It’s the holiday season and I thought I would finish my last post for 2013 by discussing the "gift of empathy."

November 25, 2013

Foundation Thanks 'Tonight Show'

With Jimmy Fallon set to take over the reins of The Tonight Show in late February, The Stuttering Foundation would like to express thanks.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.