Virtual Learning
Virtual Learning by Stuttering Foundation is an online series of interactive workshops with a variety of offerings for speech-language pathologists, parents, and individuals who stutter.
The series includes monthly offerings ranging from clinical training opportunities, to parent education, to a platform for people who stutter of all ages to share their stories. Sessions are moderated by many of the world’s leading clinicians, researchers, and self-help advocates — bringing learning and collaboration to you.
New Frontiers in Stuttering Research: A Doctoral Student Panel Discussion
Moderator: Courtney Byrd, PhD, CCC-SLP
Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm ET
Description: The future of our field will be largely influenced by the doctoral students who are presently learning and testing new theories and applying those tenets to clinical practice. Dr. Courtney Byrd will moderate a panel of doctoral students with distinct trajectories to facilitate a discussion of new frontiers in stuttering research. Panelists will provide valuable insight for clinicians and persons who stutter regarding emerging data related to the nature, assessment and treatment of stuttering.
Details:
- Note: Please only register if you can attend the LIVE event. A recording may be available at a later date for a small fee ($10) on our website.
- Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, Adults who Stutter
- There is no fee for this event
*This session is not eligible for CEUs
Bio: Courtney Byrd, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Vice President of Continuing Education for The Stuttering Foundation, Founding Director of the Michael and Tami Lang Stuttering Institute, Principal Investigator of the Dr. Jennifer and Emanuel Bodner Developmental Stuttering Lab, and Professor, Associate Chair and Graduate Adviser Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Texas at Austin.
Stuttering Foundation’s Summer Book Club: Paperboy Q&A with Vince Vawter
Presenter: Vince Vawter, Author of Paperboy
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Time: 4-5:15pm ET
Description: After reading Paperboy along with us this summer, join us for a live Q&A with author, Vince Vawter. Learn more about Vince’s personal story as a person who stutters, the writing process for Paperboy—and more! Ask your questions live!
Details:
- Paperboy is available at many local libraries! Also available for purchase on Amazon, and many other retailers. Check Vince Vawter’s website [3] for more information.
- Target Audience: Kids and Teens who Stutter, Parents, Speech-Language Pathologists, Adults who Stutter.
- There is no fee for this event.
*This session is not eligible for CEUs
Bio: Vince Vawter [4], a native of Memphis, retired after a 40-year career in newspapers, most recently as the president and publisher of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press. In 2002-2003 he was president of the board of directors of the Hoosier State Press Association. He previously served as managing editor of The Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel and news editor of the now-defunct Memphis Press-Scimitar.
Vince’s debut novel, Paperboy [5], received a Newbery Honor award in 2014. The story is based on his real-life experience growing up in the 1950s as a person who stutters. Vince spends his retirement traveling the country and discussing his books with schools, reading and education groups, as well as stuttering advocacy organizations.
He and his wife, Betty, live in Louisville, Tenn., on a small farm in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains near Knoxville.
Lexipontix vs Superhero: Let the Game Begin!
Speakers: George Fourlas, M.Ed., M.Sc., Speech & Language Therapist, Fluency Specialist.
Dimitris Marousos, M.Sc., Speech & Language Therapist, Fluency Specialist.
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2020
Time: 3:00-4:30pm ET
Description: Lexipontix is a structured therapy program for children who stutter aged 8 to 12 years. The program addresses the overall stuttering experience of the child and family, aimed at “Communication Restructuring” (Fourlas & Marousos, 2014). It uses the ICF model (WHO, 2001) as a clinical framework for assessment and treatment. It is based on the theoretical principles and clinical practices of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Fluency Shaping and Stuttering Modification and integrates those practices in therapy in a child friendly manner. The program lasts for twelve sessions over a period of three months followed by a closing session one month after. Then, progress is monitored by follow up sessions for a period of one year.
Therapy develops as a role game between the mouse called Lexipontix and the child in the role of a Superhero who defends his “Factory of Mind” with the help of the parents and therapist, members of the child’s (therapeutic) “Alliance” (Fourlas & Marousos, 2015). The alliance empowers the child to identify the invasions of Lexipontix in the “Factory of Mind” and to explore the use of “Tools” in order to maintain or regain control over the components of the “Factory of Mind” (i.e. the “Machine of Thoughts”, the “Lab of Emotions,” the “Body Sensors,” and the “Machine of Behaviors and Words”). Parents and child learn and practice with the use of different “Tools” by playing board and card games as well as participating in real life “Experiments” and “Missions.” As a result of therapy, the threatening mouse gradually becomes a companion pet (Fourlas, 2016).
In this workshop, the theme, the structure, and the clinical tools and practices of the program will be discussed in relation to their theoretical underpinnings and clinical rationale. Samples of the manual of the program will be presented for participants to have a taste of the material that is used. Clinical examples on how the program empowers members of the family to make use of their own resources to gain and maintain locus of control and to assimilate clinical tools in a way that produces meaningful changes in their communication and life will be discussed.
References
- Fourlas G., Marousos, D. (2014). “Lexipontix”: Developing a Structured Stuttering Therapy Programme for School Age Children. 4th European Symposium on Fluency Disorders, Antwerp 27-29 March 2014.
- Fourlas, G. & Marousos, D. (2015). A report on the development and clinical application of Lexipontix, a new therapy programme for school age CWS. Procedia-Social & Behavioural Sciences, 193, 92-107.
- Fourlas G. (2016). Lexipontix: the threatening mouse becomes a companion pet. Keynote presentation. 5th European Symposium on Fluency Disorders, Thomas More, Antwerp.
- World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva: WHO.
Details:
- Note: Please register if you can attend the LIVE event only. A recording will be available on our Streaming Video Site for a small fee ($10) within a few weeks.
- Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, Parents of Children who Stutter, Researchers.
- There is no fee for this event.
*This course is not eligible for CEUs
Bios:
George Fourlas is a Speech and Language Therapist, Fluency Specialist (EFS), and head of the Stuttering Research and Therapy Centre (ΚΕΘΤ) in Athens, Greece. He is lecturer and coach in the European Clinical Specialization in Fluency (ECSF). He is involved in clinical work, research, teaching and clinical supervision. He is a member of the IALP fluency committee and the Greek SIG in Fluency Disorders.
Dimitris Marousos is a Speech and Language Therapist, Fluency Specialist (EFS), and clinical supervisor of the Speech and Language Centre EU-LEGEIN in Volos, Greece. He is a mentor in the European Clinical Specialization in Fluency (ECSF). He has extensive experience in clinical supervision, and he conducts research in the area of stuttering. He is a member of the IFA Professional Liaison Committee and a member of the Greek SIG in fluency disorders.