More News | Stuttering Foundation: A Nonprofit Organization Helping Those Who Stutter

February 21, 2014
Laura Jo McKamey: A Dedicated SLP
Laura Jo McKamey passed away in May. She was killed in a car accident when a semi-truck struck her from behind during a “white out” in Montana. She was a graduate of the Stuttering Foundation’s Eastern and Western workshops.
February 21, 2014
Buddy Morgan: Perfectionist & Gentleman
Winfred A. “Buddy” Morgan passed away in June. Buddy, as most people called him, directed and produced many of the Stuttering Foundation’s videos.
February 18, 2014
Materials Fly Off Shelf in Windy City
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association had record attendance at its November convention in Chicago, and the Stuttering Foundation was there to spread the word about stuttering to the nearly 15,000 attendees.
February 13, 2014
Positive Attitude
When I was about five years old, I started to stutter badly. It would take me about five minutes to read a sentence. Going to school made me more afraid to speak. High school was a little better because I had teachers who understood me.
November 7, 2013
Byron Pitts of ABC News Honored at NYC Gala
ABC News anchor and chief national correspondent Byron Pitts was honored by the Stuttering Foundation at its May 7th gala in New York to celebrate National Stuttering Awareness Week.
November 6, 2013
Western Workshop Lassos Success
Once again, Susan Hamilton, Jennifer Watson, and Ellen Reuler conclude that this year’s workshop was a success! The three joined forces for this five-day event, Diagnosis and Treatment of Children and Adolescents Who Stutter: Practical Strategies, co-sponsored by Pacific University, Portland State University, and the Stuttering Foundation.
November 6, 2013
Eastern Workshop Goes International
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.
November 5, 2013
Marathon Golfer Raises $2,500 for Stuttering
For the second year running, Matthew Sander has supported the Stuttering Foundation by raising nearly $2,500 in pledges during this year’s Hundred Hole Hike. Matt played 119 holes of golf at the Flossmoor Country Club, in Flossmoor, Illinois.
November 4, 2013
Netherlands Conference Draws a Crowd
This is an interview with Stuttering Foundation Board member Celia Gruss, who ran an informational booth at the 10th World Congress for People Who Stutter in June in the Netherlands. The event attracted people from across the globe.
October 31, 2013
Build Your Vocab
Your teacher has posed a question to be answered by each student in turn. As each replies, your turn to answer is approaching. Your heart is pounding in panic, your mouth is parched dry with anxiety that you will have difficulty saying the word or expression to convey your thoughts. You have no confidence that you can reply without stuttering.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

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.

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.

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.

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.