Mid-Atlantic Workshop Goes International

By Lisa Scott, Ph.D.,
Florida State University

In June, Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Stuttering Foundation co-sponsored the second Mid-Atlantic Workshop in Philadelphia. Twenty speech-language pathologists from Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Sri Lanka, and South Africa met June 18-22.

The workshop was led by co-instructors Joe Donaher of the Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia, Kristin Chmela in private practice, Long Grove, Ill., and Lisa Scott of Florida State University.

The goals were:

to increase participants" skills and confidence in communicating effectively with children,
diagnose the extent and severity of the communication disorder,
develop appropriate treatment plans,
design meaningful therapy activities, and
learn to model both fluency shaping and stuttering modification tools.

"We placed emphasis on creating relationships with children, families, and teachers to facilitate the greatest success for children who are working to improve their communication skills," said Scott. "Learning opportunities included traditional lectures, guided case planning, daily small-group practice of skills, and watching videotapes of therapy sessions."

"We were so thrilled to have so many clinicians from a variety of work settings devote a week of their summer to learning more about stuttering," said Kristin Chmela.

Scott agreed, and added, "It was especially interesting to have so many participants from foreign countries, who shared with us how children are served within their educational and health systems."

"The dedication of these SLPs to helping kids is inspirational. Many children will benefit from the talents and interest these individuals have," added Donaher.

Feedback from workshop participants included comments such as "I really think this week will stand out as perhaps the most significant continuing education experience of my professional career. Thank you for making it possible!"

And "this was an excellent workshop! The length and intensity of it allowed time for the sharing of an abundance of information. For the first time, I'm not nearly as anxious about working with a person who stutters. This workshop not only gave me a lot of insight and information, it confirmed some of the things I was doing and provided me with a new sense of confidence. Thank you for providing me this opportunity!"

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Bob Love

The late Bob Love dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.