14th Boston Workshop Earns A+

Since 1985, the Stuttering Foundation has conducted intensive summer workshops in order to increase the pool of speech-language pathologists trained in the latest techniques for the treatment of stuttering. This summer was no exception.

The five-day Eastern Workshop, Using Cognitive Approaches with People Who Stutter, was held in Boston from June 25-29. Co-sponsored by the Stuttering Foundation and Boston University, the workshop was attended by clinicians from nine states, Puerto Rico, and an amazing nine foreign countries.

“Those who are selected to participate already have professional experience and are highly motivated,” added Diane Parris, M.S., of Boston University, coordinator of the Workshop.

Expertly led by master clinicians Willie Botterill and Elaine Kelman of the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children, the participants focused on cognitive approaches in working with children who stutter and their families.

Case study demonstrations and interactive exercises enlivened the learning process. Throughout the program participants were asked to share what they would take away from the day's learning.

One attendee commented, “The course content is immediately relevant and easy to begin implementing in many small ways.”

Another said, “I gained knowledge and insight into counseling based therapy – new and revolutionary approaches to treatment – not just fluency!”

Another clinician wrote, “I learned how to treat clients who stutter by focusing on the positive and looking at the individual as a whole.”

Participants had ample opportunity to get to know each other in class and in the dorms. As a result, the classroom experience was enriched by informal discussions of therapy programs and work settings.

From the Fall 2012 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

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.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.