Workshop Applications

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2025 Workshop

The Eastern Workshop:

Using Cognitive Approaches with People Who Stutter

Dates: June 2-6, 2025

Location: Boston University

Objective: This one-week course will provide speech-language pathologists with an introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) in relation to the assessment and treatment of stuttering. Therapists will also be equipped to deliver Palin PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy), an evidence based therapy programme for young children who stutter.

Workshop Faculty:

Elaine Kelman, MSc, FRCSLT, MRCSLT, Cert CBT, is Consultant Speech and Language Therapist and head of the Michael Palin Centre. She has worked clinically in stuttering and cluttering, contributing to the development of the Centre’s therapy programmes, particularly in early stuttering, co-authoring the Palin Parent Child Interaction Therapy manuals. She has also contributed to the development and delivery of the Centre’s training programme, as well the research into the nature of stammering and the effectiveness of the Centre’s therapy, publishing in peer reviewed journals and presenting at conferences internationally. Elaine is the chair of the Board of the Certified European Stuttering Specialists, a specialist advisor for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and Professional Lead for the Whittington Health Speech and Language Therapy service.

Ali Berquez, MSc, PG Dip. CT (Oxford), BRIEF Cert. SF Practice, MRCSLT, is Clinical Lead at the Michael Palin Centre working with clients who stutter and clutter of all ages, as well as providing clinical supervision, professional training and conference presentations to therapists nationally and internationally. She is Chair of the UK National Stammering Clinical Excellence Network and a registered Certified European Stuttering Specialist. Ali contributes to the Centre’s research programme and has published a number of peer-reviewed articles, as well as co-authoring a Solution Focused Brief Therapy manual for working with children who stammer and their parents.

Sarah Delpeche, MSc, BSc(Hons), MRCSLT, is Operational Lead and senior member of the therapy team at the Michael Palin Centre. She works with clients of all ages who stutter and clutter, teaches nationally and internationally via the Centre’s training programme and is part of the Centre’s research team. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and presented at international conferences. Sarah is a Certified European Stuttering Specialist and manages the webinar programme for the Certified European Stuttering Specialists.

Conference Coordinator: Caroline Brinkert, M.S., CCC-SLP, Boston University

IMPORTANT DEADLINE TO APPLY: March 31, 2025

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
Elaine Kelman: Receives an honorarium from the Stuttering Foundation for teaching the workshop. She has a financial relationship with Speechmark Publishing for receiving book royalties.
Ali Berquez: Receives an honorarium from the Stuttering Foundation for teaching the workshop.

Sarah Delpeche: Receives an honorarium from the Stuttering Foundation for teaching the workshop.

NONFINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
Elain Kelman: None
Ali Berquez: None

Sarah Delpeche: None

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin, the basketball sensation who was named to the NBA’s All Star Team in 2004, joins other famous people who stutter in a new brochure. The brochure - which unfolds into a small poster - is available free of charge from The Stuttering Foundation.

The poster is intended to give children and adults who stutter inspiration as they grapple with their speech disorder.

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

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.

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.