Taro Alexander joins Peter Reitzes to discuss the wonderful documentary film My Beautiful Stutter which follows five kids who stutter, ages 9 to 18, from all over the United States and all walks of life who meet at SAY, an interactive arts-based program.

Taro Alexander - founder of the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) - is asked about a wide range of topics from the film including positive stuttering affirmations, embracing stuttering, the fairly common experience of being a person who stutters who is not viewed as a person who stutters, dating and thriving with stuttering, the physical frustration of stuttering, and so much more.  

StutterTalk is so proud to have interviewed Taro many times. Click here to hear the full Taro Alexander StutterTalk archive.

Dr. John Jackson joins Dr. Christopher Constantino to discuss becoming a medical doctor by standing up to repeated discrimination and going on to serve thousands of patients in rural America. 

Known to some as the "Yankee Doctor," Dr. John Jackson has delivered more than 5,000 babies in rural America and talks openly today on StutterTalk about facing his stuttering and discrimination in medical school and in practice.

Dr. Christopher Constantino joins Peter Reitzes to discuss competing pressures placed on people who stutter to be fluent and to also be unashamed and fearless with stuttering. Chris and Peter revisit the Brayden Harrington endorsement video of President Joe Biden and discuss doing Zoom therapy with people who stutter and their families. 

Chris Constantino is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at Florida State University. Chris co-edited the highly acclaimed book Stammering Pride & Prejudice.

Dr. Nan Bernstein Ratner joins Peter Reitzes to discuss what is new and exciting in stuttering and updates to A Handbook of Stuttering, which is soon entering its 7th edition.Dr. Bernstein Ratner is asked about updates she and Dr. Shelly Brundage have made to the handbook regarding stuttering treatment, predictors of recovery, brain imaging research, genetics, evidence based practice, and so much more. Nan and Peter also discuss the fluencybank, Lidcombe's impact on the field, and assessment challenges.

Dr. Nan Bernstein Ratner is a Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park and a Fellow and Honors recipient of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). Dr. Bernstein Ratner is co-author of the seminal publication, A Handbook on Stuttering, which will soon be published in its 7th edition. Nan has co-authored A Handbook on Stuttering with the late Oliver Bloodstein and with new co-author Shelly Brundage.

Dr. Christoper Constantino joins Peter Reitzes to discuss the listener question, "What parent would not want their child to be fluent?"

Chris and Peter discuss the questions, "Do we want stuttering to be eradicated?", "Do people who stutter have anything to gain from stuttering?", and so much more. 

Links:

The Last Children of Down Syndrome

Natural recovery from stuttering for a clinical cohort of pre-school children who received no treatment

StutterTalk Episode 701

Dr. Christopher Constantino joins Peter Reitzes to discuss an important 2020 study on verbal contingencies in Lidcombe treatment and the related question, "What exactly is working in preschool stuttering treatment?"

Links:

Verbal Contingencies in the Lidcombe Program: A Noninferiority Trial

Direct versus Indirect Treatment for Preschool Children who Stutter: The RESTART Randomized Trial

Lidcombe Program Materials including Manual

Demands and Capacities and Lidcombe: Roughly Equal Preschool Stuttering Treatments at 18 Months Post Treatment Onset (StutterTalk Ep. 548)

Evidence-based practice in stuttering: Some questions to consider

Caryn Herring and Seth Tichenor join host Christopher Constantino for a frank discussion about fluency stuttering. On this special and fun 700th episode, the crew talk about their own experiences of fluency changing over time, why this might happen, what it means for therapy, and how to discuss it with other stutterers.

Rich Stephens joins Chaya Goldstein to discuss the expansion of the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) into Australia. Rich shares what’s been happening “down under” and some personal points that have kept him going through this demanding and exciting time.

Rich Stephens is a person who stutters and is the President and Programming Director of SAY: Australia, the first International arm of SAY: The Stuttering Association For The Young founded in 2001 in NYC by Taro Alexander. Prior to launching SAY: Australia in June 2019, Rich lived in Manchester, UK. Rich spent 6 years working as a Psychiatric Nurse, and his work in the field of Mental Health took him to all parts of the UK, Dublin-Ireland, and Wellington New Zealand. Rich completed his BSc studies in Speech & Language Therapy and MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuroimaging at the University of Manchester. During his BSc studies, Rich first volunteered at Camp SAY in 2015 as a bunk counsellor, and fast forwarded several years later is now bringing a new approach to supporting young people who stutter in Australia.

Barry Yeoman and  Chris Constantino join Peter Reitzes to discuss the determination and empathy of people who stutter and the question, "Why Can’t You Stutter More Like President Biden?"

Barry Yeoman is a journalist with more than four decades of experience who specializes in in-depth reporting that puts a human face on complex issues. 

Chris Constantino is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at Florida State University. Chris co-edited the highly acclaimed book Stammering Pride & Prejudice.  

Peter Reitzes is a speech-language pathologist and President of StutterTalk.

Barry, Chris, and Peter are all people who stutter.

Vladan Sibinovic

Vladan Sibinovic joins Chaya Goldstein to discuss “The Language,” an art exhibition that dives deep into the experience of stuttering. 

In their conversation they discuss why Vladan decided to create art about stuttering, how he uses his art to spread stuttering awareness, and how his art has transformed his relationship with his stuttering.

Vladan Sibinović (1987) was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and received his Master’s Degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade. His practice encompasses fields of painting and photography. Vladan has exhibited solo on five occasions and been involved in several group exhibitions across the USA and Europe. Currently, he lives in New York City, where he works as an independent artist. Vladan is also a person who stutters.

Website: www.vladansibinovic.comInstagram: @sibinovicvladan