Virtual Learning by The Stuttering Foundation is an online series of free, 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.

Charles Van Riper’s Approach to Stuttering and His Impact on My Life

Speaker: Barry Guitar, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Time: 12:00-1:30 PM ET

Click to Register [1]

Description: Using information from his pending biography of Van Riper, Barry will discuss how Van Riper transformed himself from a severe stutterer without hope to become a fluent stutterer.  He soon developed a treatment technique that was successful with stutterers throughout the world and treated Barry with his broad approach that changed Barry’s life.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Learn about Van Riper’s inspiring odyssey from near-suicidal helplessness to tough and compelling therapist, teacher, and researcher who changed the nature of stuttering treatment.  
2. Learn about the key influences on Van Riper’s life.
3. Learn the critical aspects of Van Riper’s treatment for stuttering and how it affected Barry.

Details:

• Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, graduate students, individuals who stutter.
• There is no fee for this event.
  *This course is not eligible for CEUs at this time.
  Please register if available for the live event only. A recording may be available at a later date on our streaming site for a small fee.

Bio: Barry Guitar began life as a severe stutterer and learned to manage it successfully to stutter fluently.  His therapy with Van Riper motivated him to travel the world to test the effectiveness of his treatment and then become a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Vermont.  He has received funding from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and other institutions, as well as awards from American Speech Language Hearing Association, University of Vermont, Carnegie Foundation, and Western Michigan University.  He is working on the 7th edition of Stuttering: An Integrated Approach to Its Nature and Treatment as well as a biography of Charles Van Riper.  

Disclosures:

Non-financial: None

Financial: Receiving an honorarium from SF for today’s presentation