Stuttering Foundation Podcast

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Rob Dellinger, M.S., CCC-SLP of the Wake County Public Schools in Raleigh, NC is back for Season 3 to continue our 'Stuttering in the Schools' segment. Rob begins by reflecting briefly on the challenges of this past school-year due to the pandemic, while also highlighting the 'silver linings' and areas of growth he's had as a clinician, and has witness among his colleagues within the schools. The conversation shifts to focus on looking ahead to what hopes to be a 'more normal' year as a school-based clinician and discusses what recommitment to best practices in school-age stuttering therapy means to him. Rob describes the core components to a comprehensive evaluation for children who stutter. The episode concludes with a reflection on hope and resiliency as key takeaways from the year.

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Mandy Hampton Wray, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh, joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP to discuss a recently published longitudinal study seeking to look deeper at early phonological skills and stuttering. Specifically, looking at whether the neural processes underlying nonword rhyming tasks differentiated stuttering persistence and recovery.

Dr. Hampton Wray provides listeners with historical context within phonology and stuttering research, discusses preliminary work and collaborations that led to forming these hypotheses, walks listeners through the study findings and potential clinical implications of this area of work, and moves on to discuss areas for exciting future research.

You won't want to miss this episode, Mandy has a phenomenal way of explaining complex research in a very digestible, listener-friendly manner!

Link to Article discussed in JSLHR
Neural Processes Underlying Nonword Rhyme Differentiate Eventual Stuttering Persistence and Recovery
Authors: Amanda Hampton Wray and Gregory Spray

Bio: Amanda (Mandy) Hampton-Wray is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh. Hampton-Wray is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies the development of brain systems that support  language and attention in typical and disordered populations. Previously, she was an assistant professor at Michigan State University. Hampton-Wray received her BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin, and both her MS in Speech-Language Pathology and PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Purdue University.

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Ali Berquez, MSc, PG Dip CT (Oxon), BRIEF Cert. SF Practice, Clinical Lead for Children at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London, UK, joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP to discuss the process of desensitization for parents of children who stutter. This discussion is based on a paper in AJSLP from 2018 written by Ali Berquez and Elaine Kelman, "Methods in Stuttering Therapy for Desensitizing Parents of Children Who Stutter." Desensitization is typically discussed in relation to working with individuals who stutter themselves; however, Ali shares how critical it is to incorporating desensitization work with parents as well.  Ali shares clinical activity examples, rationales, antidotes, stories, and more!

Links mentioned during episode:

• Michael Palin Centre Training Opportunities
• Stuttering Foundation Course with Elaine Kelman and Ali Berquez
• Stambassadors

Bio: Ali Berquez is Clinical Lead for Children at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London, UK, where she has worked since 2000. Her role includes working with clients of all ages including adults who stutter; teaching nationally and internationally (including the Stuttering Foundation’s annual Eastern Workshop in Boston), writing, offering clinical supervision and contributing to research projects. She has collaborated with Professor Patricia Zebrowski and her team in the USA over the past few years to explore the expectations of young people and parents from therapy using Solution Focused principles. Ali is a Study Day Coordinator for the UK’s National Clinical Excellence Network in Dysfluency and a certified European Fluency Specialist. 

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Ellen Kelly, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-F of Vanderbilt University joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP for our first episode of Season 3! Sara and Ellen discuss and explore helping to support clients shift from taking the 'out' in many communication situations to participating more fully independently. They discuss foundational rationale to help get individuals and families 'on board,' why the 'wait for fluency' approach to tackle challenging communication situations is flawed and harmful, and they lay out a pathway for creating and celebrating small steps or successes in a solution-focused, strength-based manner that supports this, often difficult, shift. 

For comments/ suggestions, feel free to email Sara: [email protected]

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Ellen Kelly, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-F of Vanderbilt University joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP for our final episode of Season 2! Sara and Ellen discuss and explore the process of letting parents know when and how to let go. They discuss how to: initiate this growth conversation among parents and individuals who stutter, cultivate on-going parent/child ‘debrief’ opportunities, and better understand the benefits of starting to ‘let go,’ allowing the child to take the lead—fostering accountability and independence. Dr. Ellen Kelly discusses “The Circle of Security” as a helpful framework to reference in this process.

Organizations mentioned in today’s episode:

• FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter
• Camp TALKS (Vanderbilt)

For comments/ suggestions, feel free to email Sara: [email protected]

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Dr. Rick Arenas, Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of New Mexico, is back to discuss his research related to better understanding variability and anticipation. Specifically, Dr. Arenas discusses a  study conducted in collaboration with his student, Amanda Ortiz-Alvarez, "A Phenomenological Investigation of the Contextual Variability and Anticipation of Stuttering." [Linked below] Dr. Arenas begins by describing the concepts of anticipation and variability as they relate to stuttering and then walks us through the study development, findings, and future implications. 

Link to Full Text Article (via the UNM Thesis Repository)

"A Father's Advice" By: Rick Arenas

Bio: Dr. Rick Arenas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of New Mexico.  He received a bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Science, a master's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology and a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science all from the University of Iowa.  His primary research interest is in developmental stuttering.  He is interested in the anticipation of stuttering and the contextual variability of stuttering: Why is it that stuttering occurs consistently more frequently in particular contexts?  Recently his research has transitioned toward the way people relate to their stuttering and how it plays a role in their personal narrative.  Using qualitative methods, he is investigating how people who stutter change their thoughts and beliefs to live harmoniously with stuttering.  The overall goal is to translate research findings in to more effective treatments for stuttering in order to lessen the social and emotional impacts of the disorder.

For Questions/ Feedback, email Sara: [email protected]

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Dr. Ellen Kelly hosts today's episode, which is an audio adaptation of a video presentation (video viewing details below). This "Career Retrospective" Series is a new Stuttering Foundation project. Through this project, we hope to honor and archive the careers, stories, lessons, and advice for future generations from the "Stuttering Giants."

In this candid interview, Dr. Ehud Yairi summarizes just a few of his major contributions to our understanding of the onset, development, and persistence of stuttering. His career retrospective is interwoven with his personal experiences of stuttering as a child and young adult in Israel and how they influenced his decision to enroll at the University of Iowa for graduate studies, where he also met his wife Janie. Professor Yairi recalls the avenues of inquiry and outcomes of over 50 years of pioneering research in stuttering, discusses some related implications, and offers a bit of advice for current and future clinicians and researchers.

Note: there is a video version complete with visual slides that really enrich the experience. We recommend viewing via the Stuttering Foundation Streaming Video Library.

For feedback, feel free to email Sara: [email protected]. 

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Dr. Rick Arenas, Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of New Mexico, joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP to discuss a recent research study conducted in collaboration with his student, Katlyn Ferguson, which looks at the experience of parents of children who stutter, and specifically their experiences in support group involvement. "The Experience of Being a Parent of a Child Who Stutters and Subsequent Involvement in Support Groups: A Narrative Study," uniquely seeks to add to our understanding of the caregiver experience of stuttering, and a growing need to better document the positive impact of being involved in support organizations/ community. Five parents were interviewed and asked to describe their experience as a parent of a CWS. Interviews were analyzed using a modified version of Carol Gilligan’s Listening Guide. Dr. Arenas shares the many common themes parents' reported, and above all else, the positive impact getting involved in support has had on their true understanding of the experience of stuttering.

Link to Full Text Article (via the UNM Thesis Repository)
Link to Friends: The National Association of Young People who Stutter
"A Father's Advice" By: Rick Arenas

Bio: Dr. Rick Arenas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of New Mexico.  He received a bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Science, a master's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology and a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science all from the University of Iowa.  His primary research interest is in developmental stuttering.  He is interested in the anticipation of stuttering and the contextual variability of stuttering: Why is it that stuttering occurs consistently more frequently in particular contexts?  Recently his research has transitioned toward the way people relate to their stuttering and how it plays a role in their personal narrative.  Using qualitative methods, he is investigating how people who stutter change their thoughts and beliefs to live harmoniously with stuttering.  The overall goal is to translate research findings in to more effective treatments for stuttering in order to lessen the social and emotional impacts of the disorder.

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Back by popular demand! Ellen Kelly, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-F, Associate Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC),  joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to continue their clinician-client role-play focused specifically on modeling a Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) session. This 'therapy session' is a continuation from the recent episode, "The One Where Sara is the Client and Ellen  is the Therapist," so be sure to catch that first before tuning in! Ellen begins by giving everyone a very brief overview of SFBT and then they dive right into the session!

For more continued learning regarding SFBT: Check out our course, "Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Taster" on our streaming video library.

For comments/ suggestions, feel free to email Sara: [email protected]

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Cara Singer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor at Grand Valley State University, joins Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP to discuss findings from her recently published study, "Clinical Characteristics Associated With Stuttering Persistence: A Meta-Analysis." [Linked below] Cara shares how she first became interested in this area of research, the process of conducting a meta-analysis study, her findings, drawbacks/ limitations, and possible directions she hopes to take this research in the future. Cara walks us through updates to the well-known and utilized  "Risk Factors Chart," available on the Stuttering Foundation's website based on her study findings.

Link to Article in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Cara M. Singer Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. She conducts research related to evaluation and treatment practices for children who stutter and attitudes towards stuttering. Additionally, she teaches and supervises speech-language pathology undergraduate and graduate students in clinical and research settings.