Foundation Releases New DVDs

Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence: Closing the Gap

Discussions about evidence-based practice often culminate in claims that there is one best approach to treatment of a particular type of client, or that we lack appropriate evidence or that clinicians lack access to what evidence we have.

In this presentation, in an effort to frame these claims more positively, Nan Bernstein Ratner, Ed.D., argues that there is both research and common-sense evidence that these claims are wrong. She also suggests that in the debate about best practices in fluency treatment, there is indeed a need to search out and integrate many sources of evidence that either support our approach to a case or suggest a need for reconsideration, adjustment or change.

Many options exist to find and use this evidence, and many more await implementation either in the clinic or in our research undertakings.

This 55-minute talk provides a range of options for both clinical researchers and practicing clinicians who want to find, use and integrate evidence of treatment effectiveness.

Click here to see this DVD in our online store

Autism Spectrum Disorders and Stuttering

There has been increased interest in understanding the variety of speech disfluency patterns among those with autism spectrum disorders.

Case studies that describe types of disfluencies have added to our knowledge base. While both stuttering and “atypical” disfluencies (final part-word repetition) have been documented, many questions remain unanswered. What treatment methods are effective? What are the priorities for improved communication? What should we expect for positive functional outcomes?

In this 2-hour presentation, Vivian Sisskin, M.S., CCC-SLP, from the University of Maryland, summarizes the literature pertaining to disfluency in autism, and provides basic principles to aid in differential diagnosis and treatment planning.

A case study, demonstrating effective treatment for final part-word repetitions, highlights a problem-solving approach to clinical management, using both learning style in autism and strategies from traditional fluency therapies.

Click here to see this DVD in our online store

From the Fall 2012 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

John Melendez

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

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

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.

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.

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.