Vive La France

The 7th World Congress of the International Fluency Association was held in the heart of the Loire Valley in Tours, France, July 2-5, 2012.

It brought together more than 200 people, many of them experts in the field of stuttering.

Participants came from 32 countries around the world, from China to Russia, from Croatia to Sweden, from India to Canada and the United States.

Some 16 percent of participants had attended Stuttering Foundation workshops for specialists, and you will see many of them pictured below!

The Stuttering Foundation was represented by Jane Fraser and Celia Gruss who manned a display of Foundation materials.

“Being bilingual at a conference held in Tours gave us a distinct advantage,” commented Fraser. “Celia and I were able to clearly describe our books and DVDs to various attendees from the francophone countries of France, Switzerland and Belgium.”

“It was a great conference in a beautiful setting. The presentations were stimulating and varied and presented by researchers, clinicians and people who stammer, reflecting the ethos of the IFA. There was a wonderful atmosphere that fostered and encouraged new and old collaborations across the world,” added Willie Botterill.

IFA President Willie Botterill was honored with the Award for Clinical Excellence. Also honored was Foundation Board member Alan Rabinowitz, who received the Consumer Award, Colin Firth and David Seidler received the Contributor Award for Stuttering Awareness, Anne Smith received the Researcher Award, and Carolyn Cheasman received the Clinician of Distinction Award.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

Bruce Willis

While the world knows Bruce Willis as an A-list actor, few know that he struggled with stuttering throughout his first 20 years.

Walter Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in West Germany to his German mother, Marlene, and his American GI father, David Willis. The family settled in David’s hometown of Penns Grove, New Jersey in 1957, and the couple has three other children.

John Melendez

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

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.

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.