Camp Provides Fun and Learning

By Ellen M. Kelly, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University

Camp TALKS (Talking And Learning with Kids who Stutter) was held on the Vanderbilt University campus June 1-5. Twenty-four campers ranging in age from 8 to 16, 14 graduate students, and 8 speech-language pathologists (SLPs), tackled daily challenges centered around this year’s theme of “Communication, whether you stutter or not!”

Campers became their own “communication detectives,” examining the complexities of human communication, speech fluency, stuttering in general, and their own stuttering “styles.”

Activities helped campers to explore what they think, feel, and do (or don’t do) when they communicate and/or stutter, and then try out some new ways of stepping out of their “comfort zones” to expand their communication repertoires.

Led by the teens, campers surveyed the knowledge and attitudes the general public has about those who stutter and provided verbal suggestions and handouts. Multi-age groups, with the help of graduate students and SLPs, wrote, choreographed, and performed their own skits, showcasing both their acting skills and their communication confidence as many stepped well outside of their comfort zones.

Campers shared their own stories as part of an “In the Spotlight” video they helped create, and tackled teasing and bullying head-on with role-plays and brain-stormed solutions. Bowling, games on the lawn, indoor bizarre relay races, crafts, mindfulness exercises, and lots (and lots) of food, rounded out the experience and added to the camaraderie and strong friendships forged during camp.

Parents spent the first and last day of camp sharing their children’s stories, asking questions, learning from SLPs, and interacting with a panel of adults who shared their own experiences with stuttering and answered a myriad of questions. Parents uniformly commented that meeting the adults gave them hope and the knowledge that their children will be happy, healthy, successful adults, whether they stutter or not!

Camp ended with performances by the campers, shared recollections of special moments, happy tears, shared phone numbers and addresses, and, promised reunions in one year’s time, if not sooner.

From the Fall 2015 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bill Walton

From BillWalton.com

Thank you for your interest in my life long problem with my speech and communication skills. I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old. Always a success in the classroom and on the basketball court, I took refuge in the things that I did well as a youngster. A straight A student, my athletic abilities covered the deficiencies that limited my overall growth and development. The game of basketball was my religion, the gym my church. It was a convenient way of avoiding my responsibilities of developing my human relation skills.

When I was 28, a chance encounter at a social event with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman completely changed my life in so many ways that things have never been the same since, nor have they ever been better. That day, in a very brief, private conversation (one way, mind you, since I literally could not speak at the time) Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright and that like any skill, whether it be sports, music, business or whatever, needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline, organization and practice. Marty gave me some simple tips that day and then encouraged me to take those keys and apply them to methods of learning that I had received from the special teachers that I had come across in my life, particularly the 6 Hall of Fame basketball coaches that I had played for throughout my career. The beginning of my whole new life was as simple as that. No gimmicks, tricks or shortcuts. Just the realization that with some help, guidance and a lot of hard work that I too could do what seemed so easy, simple and natural to everyone else, yet seemed impossibly out of my reach and comprehension.

John Melendez

He is a talented musician, actor, and comedian. Listen to a podcast.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.

Marilyn Monroe

From Edward S. Herrington's letter to Southcoasttoday.com

I am writing in response to "The importance of voice" (May 29), which mentioned that famous actor James Earl Jones struggled with stuttering. Another famous voice that you cited was the trademark breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe; however, you did not make mention of the fact that Marilyn Monroe also struggled with stuttering at various points in her life, sometimes very painfully.