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Special Education Articles: Speech and Language Articles: "Children Who Stutter and Their Families" Workshops

"Children Who Stutter and Their Families" Workshops

Author - Gail Wilson Lew, M.A. C.C.C.

"Children Who Stutter and Their Parents" workshops take place three times a year at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. The workshops are sponsored by the National Stuttering Project (NSP), a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about stuttering in cooperation with Pasadena City College's Disabled Student Program.

The workshops are an opportunity to meet a real need for the children who stutter and their parents. This is a chance for them to get to together and give each other support and added understanding. For the children, the workshops give an opportunity for them to talk to other children who stutter, make friends, and to not be afraid that someone was going to make fun of them for stuttering. Parents are able to share their experiences and encourage one another. The parents also feel relieved that they are not the only ones struggling with guilt, a sense of failure, apprehension, and doubts about whether they were doing the right things.

Many times a child who stutters is the only one in his grade or school that has this problem, and he or she feels isolated. By having these children come together they feel relieved that they are not alone. They also can feel accepted for who they are and not for how they say things.

Each workshop averages about 15 families. The workshops are also open to speech-language pathologists so that they could learn more about stuttering and be informed about the special needs of parents who have a child who stutters.

Participating speech-language pathologists are able to provide insight, understanding, and encouragement to the parents.

The speech-language pathologists that attend, find the workshop to be helpful and very informative. There is literature available about stuttering published by the National Stuttering Project and The Stuttering Foundation of America (formerly called Speech Foundation of America).

Speech-language pathologist Vivian Sheehan from the UCLA Stuttering Clinic, meets with the parents and gives an informative talk on stuttering as well as answer any of their questions.

One of the highlights of the workshops are the adult stutterers who act as volunteers. They are from the Los Angeles chapter of The National Stuttering Project. For the first time the children and parents got to meet adults who stutter. The volunteers play games with the children, and later the parents got to ask them questions about their own childhood experiences as stutterers.. Some parents worry about their child's future. By having the volunteers there, the parents come to realize that a person can stutter and still succeed in life.


MEET YOUR PAL

Gail Wilson Lew received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Hardin-Simmons University and her Master of Arts Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Tennessee. She holds the Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech Pathology from the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association, a License in Speech-Language Pathology from the State of California, and the Speech-Language Clinical Rehabilitative Credential. Gail has a private practice in Sierra Madre, CA specializing in stuttering. She also works part time for a school district and is the Director of the Adult Stuttering Clinic at California State University, Los Angeles. For the last 7 years, she and Dr. Vivian Sheehan have held several workshops for children who stutter and their families. She has had the opportunity to gain experience also with Dr. Charles Van Riper,Phd. (Pioneer and authority in Stuttering) and Dr. Carl Dell, Phd. author of "Treating the School Age Stutterer" from the Stuttering Foundation of America. She was on the Board of Directors of the National Stuttering Project for three years and director of the Los Angeles support chapter for the last seven years. Gail has a keen insight into stuttering since she herself was once a severe stutterer.


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