StutterTalk

Del Siegmund, father of a child who stutters

Del Siegmund joins Peter Reitzes at the FRIENDS 18th annual convention in Raleigh, North Carolina. Del is the father of a 14 year old boy who stutters. The Siegmunds attend the FRIENDS convention every summer. Mr. Siegmund talks with deep appreciation about the confidence and support that FRIENDS has provided his son who stutters.

Thales De Nardo joins Christopher Constantino from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. They discuss his presentation on Successful Stuttering Management in Adolescents Who Stutter: A Qualitative Analysis.

Thales De Nardo is a PhD student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a people who stutter and has been the chapter leader of two National Stuttering Association chapters. Growing up in Brazil, he became interested in cultural differences in acceptance of stuttering and how people who stutter cope with and manage stuttering.

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.

Christopher Constantino, Carol Cheasman and Rachel Everard

Carolyn Cheasman and Rachel Everard join Christopher Constantino from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. Cheasman and Everard are asked about their presentation Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Therapist and Client Perspectives which they describe as a mindfulness based approach.

Cheasman and Everard are also asked about their book ‘Stammering Therapy on the Inside: New Perspectives on Working with Young People and Adults.’

Rachel Everard and Carolyn Cheasman are presenting a two-day weekend workshop at Boston University, September 12 & 13, 2015. The workshop is titled Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Speech and Language Pathologists and is sponsored by the Stuttering Foundation at stuttering help.org and Boston University. This two-day workshop will provide valuable training on the methods of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Carolyn Cheasman has worked with adults who stutter at City Lit, London (the UK national specialist centre in adult stuttering therapy) since 1979. She has experienced interiorized stuttering herself and so brings both personal and professional interests to the field. Having completed post-qualification training in personal construct psychology and person-centered counselling, she went on to train as a mindfulness teacher and now teaches mindfulness to people who stutter, speech and language therapists and the general public. Carolyn is also involved in student training and is a clinical tutor at City University, London. In 2012, Carolyn was honored to receive the International Fluency Association Clinician of Distinction award.

Rachel Everard is a specialist speech and language therapist whose decision to train as a therapist stemmed from the fact she stutters herself and from her life-changing experience of receiving therapy at City Lit. Since qualifying in 1996, she has worked in a variety of settings, including community clinics and mainstream primary schools, before joining the City Lit team in 2001. Due to her own personal experience of stuttering, she strongly believes in empowering people who stutter and in the benefits of group therapy. She also believes in the value of self-help and has had a long-standing involvement with the British Stammering Association. To complement her skills as a speech and language therapist, Rachel has completed a certificate in person-centered counseling. Rachel may be contacted via email: [email protected].

With their colleague Sam Simpson, Ms. Everard and Ms. Cheasman co-edited the book ‘

Rachel Everard, Chris Constantino and Sam Simpson

Rachel Everard and Sam Simpson join Christopher Constantino from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. Simpson and Everard are asked about their presentation Stammering and the Social Model of Disability: Implications for Therapy.

Rachel Everard will be co-presenting, with Carolyn Cheasman, a two-day weekend workshop at Boston University, September 12 & 13, 2015. The workshop is titled Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Speech and Language Pathologists and is sponsored by the Stuttering Foundation and Boston University. This two-day workshop will provide valuable training on the methods of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Rachel Everard is a specialist speech and language therapist whose decision to train as a therapist stemmed from the fact she stutters herself and from her life-changing experience of receiving therapy at City Lit. Since qualifying in 1996, she has worked in a variety of settings, including community clinics and mainstream primary schools, before joining the City Lit team in 2001. Due to her own personal experience of stuttering, she strongly believes in empowering people who stutter and in the benefits of group therapy. She also believes in the value of self-help and has had a long-standing involvement with the British Stammering Association. To complement her skills as a speech and language therapist, Rachel has completed a certificate in person-centered counseling. Rachel may be contacted via email: [email protected].

Sam Simpson is counselor and speech language therapist at InTandem. Ms. Simpson’s current areas of interest include counseling and speech and language therapy for people who stammer and their families (individually and in groups), individual counseling for young people in collaboration with Off the Record, individual counseling for people living with cancer in collaboration with The Mulberry Centre and much more. Sam may be contacted via email: [email protected].

With their colleague Carolyn Cheasman, Ms. Everard and Ms. Simpson co-edited the book ‘Stammering Therapy on the Inside: New Perspectives on Working with Young People and Adults.’

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.

Michael Boyle, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Dr. Michael Boyle joins Christopher Constantino from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. They discuss self stigma, the “normal” anxiety related to stuttering, the anticipation of negative reaction, public reactions to stuttering, taking self stigma into account during treatment, talking about stuttering and disclosing stuttering to reduce the burden and stigma of stuttering, considering unhelpful or irrational thoughts about stuttering, self help and social support (“power in numbers”) and much more.

Michael Boyle and Chris Constantino

Michael Boyle, Ph.D., CCC-SLP  is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Oklahoma State University where he teaches graduate courses in fluency disorders and research methods. His research focuses on identifying factors that predict both resilience and coping and adjustment difficulties related to stuttering. Particular psychosocial variables of interest include stigma, bullying, and attribution. Dr. Boyle is also very interested in the development of interventions that address stigma reduction and improved well-being in individuals who stutter. Dr. Boyle may be contacted via email: [email protected]

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.

Dr. Kate Watkins

Dr. Kate Watkins joins Dr. Tom Weidig from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. Dr. Watkins discusses brain imagining research, subtypes of stuttering, brain activations, genetics and stuttering, gene mutations and much more.

Dr. Kate Watkins is a professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. Kate trained at University College London where she used brain imaging and neuropsychological testing to study members of the KE family, half of which have verbal dyspraxia due to a mutation in the gene FOXP2. In Oxford, she uses brain imaging and cognitive testing to study children and adults with speech and language disorders. Members of her research group are carrying out studies on stuttering, cluttering, specific language impairment, and acquired aphasia.

Drs. Weidig and Watkins

Dr. Tom Weidig is the brain behind the popular Stuttering Brain blog. Dr. Weidig’s blog contains more than 1000 posts and 5000 comments over a period of 10 years with 1000 weekly readers. Dr. Weidig has a PhD and has done postdoctoral research in theoretical physics and currently works in the financial industry specializing in private equity and venture capital.

Keith Boss

Keith Boss joins Christopher Constantino from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. They discuss the role of the International Stuttering Association (ISA), the importance of positive communication whether you stutter or not and much more.

Keith Boss is a person who stutters and Chair of the International Stuttering Association (ISA). Mr. Boss was elected to the ISA Board in 2013 and is Chair of the Association until 2016. He was also elected to the ISA Board in 2011 as Vice Chair and again in 2007 as Outreach Coordinator. Mr. Boss is a retired computer professional.

Chris Constantino and Keith Boss

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.

Lynn Shields, Tom Weidig, Per Alm and Chirs Constantino

Dr. Per Alm and Dr. Lynn Shields join Dr. Tom Weidig and Christopher Constantino for the Day 2 Wrap-Up from the International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Lynn Shields, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-F,  is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Speech-Language Pathology at Fontbonne, University in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Shields is a Board-Certified Specialist in Fluency Disorders.

Dr. Per Alm is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, Speech-Language Pathology, Uppsala University, Sweden. The research focuses understanding of the mechanisms of stuttering and cluttering, with an integrative approach on brain functions and their relation to symptoms, speech motor control, psychological interactions, and background factors. The recent work involves analysis of stuttering repetitions at a “micro-level”: what is proximate cause of these disruptions of speech? This work has led to a proposal of an integrative model of stuttering, with clinical implications.

Dr. Tom Weidig is the brain behind the popular Stuttering Brain blog. Dr. Weidig’s blog contains more than 1000 posts and 5000 comments over a period of 10 years with 1000 weekly readers. Dr. Weidig has a PhD and has done postdoctoral research in theoretical physics and currently works in the financial industry specializing in private equity and venture capital.

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.

Gunars K. Neiders

Gunars Neiders joins Dr. Tom Weidig from The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. Dr. Neiders discusses stuttering, being a refugee child of World War II, experiencing 17 different stuttering treatments, being a small part of putting a man on the moon, getting a PhD in psychology, unconditional self acceptance and much more.

Gunars K. Neiders, Ph.D.E.E., Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in the State of Washington. Dr. Neiders provides in-person and internet-based (Skype, Google Hangout) treatment of stuttering. His current book: “From Stuttering to Fluency: Manage Your Emotions and Live More Fully” is based on his coaching experience, work done with Albert Ellis (his mentor), as well as on his dissertation: “Theoretical Development Of A Proposed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Based Model To Treat Persons With Chronic Perseverative Stuttering Syndrome”, his study of the Stuttering Modification techniques from speech and language pathologists and his own recovery from stuttering.

Drs. Tom Weidig and Gunars Neiders

Dr. Tom Weidig is the brain behind the popular Stuttering Brain blog. Dr. Weidig’s blog contains more than 1000 posts and 5000 comments over a period of 10 years with 1000 weekly readers. Dr. Weidig has a PhD and has done postdoctoral research in theoretical physics and currently works in the financial industry specializing in private equity and venture capital.

Ineke Samson

Dr. Tom Weidig and Christopher Constantino begin this episode with their first daily wrap-up from Day 1 of The International Fluency Association’s 2015 World Congress on cluttering, stuttering and other fluency disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. This event is a collaboration between the International Fluency Association (IFA) and the International Cluttering Association (ICA).

During the second part of this episode, Ineke Sampson, a speech-language pathologist in Stockholm, Sweden, joins Christopher Constantino to discuss her poster session titled Stuttering from a gender perspective – follow-up study 5-9 years post-referral.

Ineke Samson, is a speech-language pathologist in Stockholm, Sweden. Ineke works at Danderyds University Hospital and the Karolinska Institute both in Sweden. Ms. Samson presented a poster of research she conducted in collaboration with Elisabeth Lindström from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Below is the abstract from Ms. Samson’s poster session:

This study sought to investigate if symptoms of stuttering show differences based on gender, and to explore when the ratio change between the sexes take place. Participants were       children referred to a specialist and diagnosed with stuttering at an age of 2-4. Speech analysis and self-report of communication in relation to social, emotional and cognitive state was made. Results showed that 54% of the participating 24 children were still stuttering, with a sex ratio of 1.7:1. No differences either between the sexes for stuttering characteristics, or how the children experienced that stuttering affected quality of life, we found.

Dr. Tom Weidig is the brain behind the popular Stuttering Brain blog. Dr. Weidig’s blog contains more than 1000 posts and 5000 comments over a period of 10 years with 1000 weekly readers. Dr. Weidig has a PhD and has done postdoctoral research in theoretical physics and currently works in the financial industry specializing in private equity and venture capital.

Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.