Virtual Learning by The Stuttering Foundation is an online series of free, interactive workshops with a variety of offerings for speech-language pathologists, parents, and individuals who stutter.

The series includes monthly offerings ranging from clinical training opportunities, to parent education, to a platform for people who stutter of all ages to share their stories. Sessions are moderated by many of the world’s leading clinicians, researchers, and self-help advocates — bringing learning and collaboration to you.

Building Parents’ Confidence and Resilience in Stuttering Therapy

Speaker: Sarah Caughter, MSc, RegMRCSLT, RegHCPC, European Fluency Specialist, Michael Palin Centre

Date:  Friday, November 22, 2024

Time: 11:00am-12:15pm ET (4pm-5:15pm GMT [UK time])

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Description: Sarah Caughter, Highly Specialist SLT from the Michael Palin Centre (MPC), will discuss working with parents of children who stutter, developing their understanding of stuttering and boosting their own confidence and resilience in supporting their child with stuttering. She will explore how this supports parents to nurture their child’s emotional wellbeing and coping skills. This workshop will outline working with parents in a group context, helping parents to feel more at ease with stuttering and empowering them to manage stuttering within the family context.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will:

  1. Be introduced to the holistic and multidimensional approach to therapy delivered at the MPC, using the Palin model
  2. Explore the meaning of resilience and the skills included under this umbrella term
  3. Understand a range of activities used to support parents in building their knowledge and confidence about stuttering
  4. Be introduced to outcome measures that can be used with parents to monitor progress in therapy from their own perspective

Details:

  • Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, Graduate Students
  • There is no fee for this event.
    *This course is not eligible for CEUs at this time
    Please register if available for the live event only. A recording may be available at a later date on our streaming site for a small fee.

Bio
Sarah Caughter is a highly specialist SLT who has worked at the Michael Palin Centre (MPC) since 2009. She has a Masters in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with children and young people and is an accredited ‘Cool Kids’ therapist (an evidence-based anxiety program for children and their parents). Sarah completed an intensive ‘train the trainers’ course in building resilience in young children, in Canada, in 2016. She has published research on resilience and stuttering, a clinical focus paper on working holistically with school-aged children who stutter and has co-authored a book chapter on using cognitive approaches in stuttering therapy. She leads the Centre’s training program and is currently contributing to the development of the Centre’s cluttering therapy and research.  She has a particular interest in supporting children and young people who stammer with their emotional wellbeing, and in developing their self-esteem and resilience. 

Contemporary Stuttering Modification

Speaker: Christopher Constantino, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Date:  Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Time: 12-1:30pm ET

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Description: Stuttering modification therapy has been part of speech-language pathology’s treatment approach to stuttering for the better part of a century. This workshop will give an overview of the traditional stuttering modification therapy within the context of the contemporary research literature. We will discuss the primary stages of therapy, including identification, desensitization, variation, modification, and stabilization. I will give practical examples of therapy activities for each stage. The focus of will be on helping clients reduce concealment of stuttering and increase spontaneity of speech.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will:

  1. Describe the stages of stuttering modification treatment.
  2. Explain the evidence that supports stuttering modification treatment.
  3. Identify at least two activities to help clients stutter with less effort.

Details:

  • Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, Graduate Students
  • There is no fee for this event.
    *This course is not eligible for CEUs at this time
    Please register if available for the live event only. A recording may be available at a later date on our streaming site for a small fee.

Biography: Christopher Constantino lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Megan, and sons, Augustine and Sebastian. He is a speech-language pathologist at Florida State University. He works clinically with, teaches classes on, and researches how to improve the experience of stuttering. He co-edited Stammering Pride & Prejudice. Chris enjoys riding his bicycle.