Ehud Yairi receives Prestigious Award

 

By Nan Bernstein Ratner

 

alt text

As recognition of his contributions to the field of stuttering, Ehud Yairi, Ph.D., was named the recipient of the Malcolm Fraser Award for Excellence during the Leadership Conference of the Special Interest Division 4 (Fluency) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Boston on Aug. 4.

    The selection committee included Vianne Bjornberg, Susan Hamilton, Brett Kluetz, Barry Guitar, and Dick Curlee.

    Since his graduation from the University of Iowa in 1970, Dr.  Yairi has conducted research that has literally transformed our understanding of childhood stuttering.

    One of the first investigators to target close examination of the beginning stages of stuttering, Ehud was able to demonstrate through programmatic investigation, over the span of more than a decade,  specific features that distinguish preschool stuttering from normal developmental disfluency. He was also one of the first

researchers to undertake systematic analysis of parent-child interaction profiles in families with stuttering children.

    Ehud’s work was made possible, in large part, through an astounding record of federal research funding, which exceeds $7 million dollars during the past twenty years. Few researchers can boast of such a high degree of support, which is in itself large testimony to the quality of his research and the importance of each set of findings his work has generated over the years. A prolific author, he has authored or co-authored 6 chapters, almost 70 research articles in our most prestigious peer-reviewed journals, and, most recently, a superb book on

the nature of early stuttering.

    Ehud’s contributions will continue to grow over the years, even after he retires, because of the lasting legacy he also gives us in the form of his many talented students.

    Other groups have already taken notice of Professor Yairi's significant and lasting contributions to the field of speech-language pathology, and to stuttering in particular. He has received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a tribute accorded to only slightly over 100 people since its inception. He was the very first recipient of the International Fluency Association’s Researcher Award of Distinction. It should come as no surprise that he has also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa, no mean feat given the other major figures that program has produced over the years.

    Thus, it is only fitting and appropriate that Ehud Yairi be honored with the Malcolm Fraser Award. Few men alive today have done so much to further the understanding of how stuttering evolves over the lifespan. He has pioneered a multi-factorial approach to the investigation of stuttering, one that I feel is most likely to eventually untangle its mysteries. Like the Award’s namesake, he is one of a very special kind and most deserving of the award that carries Malcolm Fraser’s name.

 

Yairi’s Comments Upon Receiving the Malcolm Fraser Award

 

    I extend my thanks to Nan Ratner who nominated me for the Malcolm Fraser Award, to the committee for selecting me to receive it, and to The Stuttering Foundation of America and its President, Jane Fraser, for initiating and sponsoring the award. I greatly cherish my peers’ recognition.

    Now is a timely opportunity for me to pay tribute to the late Malcolm Fraser who, back in 1947, initiated what was first known as The Speech Foundation of America. Motivated by his own stuttering, Mr. Fraser’s idea was to bring together the best expert clinicians and use their collective knowledge and experience of the clinical management of stuttering to generate useful, practical information for dissemination to the public — people who stutter of all ages and their families, as well as to practicing clinicians.

    Although some have questioned the merit of both past and current clinical methods in stuttering, we must also keep in mind differences in the social responsibilities of researchers and clinicians. Whereas researchers are obligated to defer final conclusions until sufficient evidence is in, clinicians have different social responsibility: they must respond to the immediate needs and demands of those who suffer.

    They have the responsibility to wisely apply the best knowledge available at the time. They cannot send home people who stutter, or their parents, and ask them to return in 10 years when better knowledge is acquired.

    It is perhaps in this respect that the Stuttering Foundation of America has had a tremendous impact in forming essential bridges between consumers and service providers, and in educating the public at large.  It is true that research flourishes in a free environment, but I do believe that paying closer attention to the consumers of our science — those who stutter and those who treat them, will substantially enhance our research and increase its public support.

    So, while a number of us have engaged in research, the Stuttering Foundation of America has expanded its activities many fold since its origins nearly 58 years ago. These include various workshops for clinicians, updated printed and audio-visual materials, an excellent clinician’s data bank, a nation-wide toll-free help line, support of research, and more. It has achieved a prestigious status worldwide, and received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

    During the past 23 years, these multiple developments have been shaped by the leadership, enthusiasm, and devotion of Jane Fraser, daughter of Malcolm Fraser. I would like to emphasize this fact because, inasmuch as it is a great honor for me to receive the Fraser Award, success and progress in scientific and health fields is made possible by the contributions of many people having diverse interests and talents. So, I take this opportunity to also applaud Jane and salute you.