Camps Provide Fun and Learning

In the Fall newsletter we featured Camp Shout Out and Camp Our Time. For this newsletter we are featuring three more summer camps: the Institute for Stuttering Research, Wasatch Children’s Stuttering Management Program, and Freedom to Speak.

In August 2012, the Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) held a 4 day summer camp in Edmonton, Alberta, for children who stutter and their families. Children participated in activities such as the “Speech Olympics,” field trips to local attractions, a simulated school day experience as well as small and large group activities all while practicing their fluency skills in a fun and supportive environment! Parents also gained valuable experience learning to facilitate fluency skill use and support their child in real-world situations. A great time was had by all! Feedback from children and parents at the end of the camp included, “It was SO fun!,” “It worked!,” “The program was very beneficial and inspiring for our son and our family.” For more information about programs for children, teens and adults at ISTAR, please contact 780-492-2619 or visit us online at www.istar.ualberta.ca.

Tom Gurrister and his wife, Maria, completed the 6th year of the Wasatch Children’s Stuttering Management Program during the summer of 2012 in Holladay, UT. It provided treatment and training for eight children and eight clinicians and student clinicians. Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Utah all had participants.

The program entailed many social activities, groups, and functional community outings to facilitate stuttering management skills in a variety of settings.

For more information, visit StutteringInfo.com or call 801-308-0400.

Freedom to Speak held a treatment program on Honeoye Lake, a smaller Finger Lake in upstate New York. The focus was on reducing avoidance behaviors and moving in a forward and approach mode towards communication and establishing relationships. For more information call Susan Cochrane at (585) 329-0616 or visit www.stuttertherapy.com.

For more on summer camps and clinics, please visit www.stutteringhelp.org/clinics-summer.

From the Winter 2013 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.