Stuttering is a frustrating and embarrassing problem for millions of people, but it can be especially
tough on elementary school-age children.
Help is available for parents, teachers, and speech-language pathologists at four area public libraries
in the form of a DVD designed to help school-age children who stutter.
"It’s meant to give speech-language pathologists the tools they need to deal with stuttering in this
age group, but it also offers good ideas for parents and teachers," said Professor Peter Ramig of
the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ramig is one of five nationally recognized experts appearing in
the DVD produced by the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation.
The DVD features students from first through sixth grade, some of whom talk about their experiences with
stuttering. They talk openly about the teasing they face from classmates and how their stuttering
sometimes makes them feel about themselves.
"We focus on demonstrating a variety of therapy strategies that are appropriate in working with
children who stutter," adds Ramig. He appears in the DVD along with speech-language pathologists
Barry Guitar, Ph.D., of the University of Vermont, Hugo H. Gregory, Ph.D., and June Campbell, M.A., of
Northwestern University, and Patricia Zebrowski, P.D., of the University of Iowa.
These five experts answer questions about stuttering, refute myths and misconceptions, and present
examples of therapy sessions showing how stuttering can be reduced.
More than 3 million Americans stutter, yet stuttering remains misunderstood by most people," said
Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. "Myths such as believing people who stutter
are less intelligent or suffer from psychological problems still persist despite research refuting these
erroneous beliefs."
The 38-minute DVD, entitled Therapy in Action: The School-age Child Who Stutters, produced by the
67-year-old nonprofit Stuttering Foundation is available free of charge to public libraries nationwide.
Other libraries that will shelve it can contact the Foundation at 1-800-992-9392, e-mail
[email protected].
Local libraries that have the DVD are Wood County District Public Library, Way Public Library in
Perrysburg, Rossford Public Library and Wayne Public Library.