Presented by Joseph Donaher

"I have been incorporating voluntary stuttering and self-disclosure into therapy, but this provided some great, concrete strategies for how to do so in a more nuanced and intentional fashion. I appreciate the discussion of some of the pitfalls if this isn't approached in a highly structured and intentional manner. I had used risk hierarchies, but this just provided more depth to my understanding. I liked that the tools provided were child-friendly and strategies I can use immediately in my practice!"-SLP

School-age children who stutter often rate themselves as poor communicators and are more likely to experience negative social interactions because of their stuttering. Additionally, the general public sometimes harbors negative views of people who stutter and may underestimate what they can accomplish. Fortunately, the impact of negative stereotyping can be diminished with the use of voluntary stuttering. In this presentation, Dr. Joseph Donaher, CCC-SLP, BCS-F, of Center for Childhood Communication at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, explores ways in which voluntary stuttering can be used to empower school-age children who stutter in therapy.

Learning Outcomes:
As a result of this activity, participants will be able to

1.    Explain three ways that voluntary stuttering can be incorporated into stuttering treatment
2.    Describe when and with what type of client you would use voluntary stuttering
3.    Produce various types of voluntary stuttering naturally

DISCLOSURES: Joseph Donaher, Ph.D., is the Academic and Research Program Director of the Center for Childhood Communication at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Donaher is an assistant professor of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Donaher received an honorarium for this presentation.

SATISFACTORY COMPLETION: Course takers must earn a passing score on a multiple-choice test in order to achieve satisfactory completion.