Josh Cohen of Cherry Hill, N.J., wanted to do something special for his Bar Mitzvah last October. In fact, his plans had been in the works since the spring time.

It was the Bar Mitzvah requirement to complete a personally meaningful project of community benefit that inspired Jo

Dennis Drayna, Ph.D., researcher for the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, answers questions from students at Glendale American Elementary School.

Dr. Drayna: Thank you for your interest in our research on stuttering. I’m happy to answer your questions as follows:

By Garrett

Hello, my name is Garrett and I have just celebrated my eighteenth birthday. I was born in Merced, California and now reside with my family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Along with reading, I also enjoying running, being with my family, and I am a diehard NASCAR fan.

Because the help I sought in becoming fluent is proving successful, my therapist thought perhaps others could benefit from reading about my experience and encouraged me to answer the following questions for the reader of this article.

Stuttering Foundation Makes Headlines Around the World

Comments Come in from Across the Globe

The movie The King’s Speech, which debuts Nov. 26, documents King George VI’s struggle to overcome his stutter and lead the U.K. through World War II. Like the King, America’s approximately 3 million stutterers can improve by doing what they may fear the most: Speak in public. Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org) offers a supportive, safe and therapeutic atmosphere for people of all backgrounds to practice their speaking and leadership skills.  

Last week the Stuttering Foundation and President Jane Fraser were mentioned in an article on the Catholic News Service. The article dealt with how some Catholic priests deal with stuttering in their ministry and featured the stories of two priests. Articles from the wire service are made made available to almost every Catholic newspaper in the U.S., as well as to those in English-speaking foreign countries. The article mentioned the Stuttering Foundation's downloadable brochure "Special Education Law and Children Who Stutter," which explains that every child in the U.S.

My Disability Lesson

By Andrew Feese
2010 FAME Essay Winner

This is a new age for people who are disabled. There are electronic aides, there are therapists, and there are exceptions.                      

In July, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), The Florida State University, and the Stuttering Foundation co-sponsored the third Mid-Atlantic Workshop in Philadelphia.

Speech-language pathologists from nine states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, and France met July 12-16 on the CHOP campus to learn how to assess and treat school-age children and adolescents who stutter.

Boston Workshop Deemed Success

Since 1985, the Stuttering Foundation has conducted intensive summer workshops in order to increase the pool of speech-language pathologists trained in the latest techniques for the treatment of stuttering. This summer was no exception.