School-Age Stuttering: A Practical Approach

School-Age Stuttering: A Practical Approach

J. Scott Yaruss, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F, ASHA Fellow

School-age children who stutter can face many challenges, both in and out of the classroom. Common problems include negative emotional reactions, such as embarrassment and anxiety; difficulties reading aloud in class or participating in group discussions; and limitations while interacting with peers. Unfortunately, many speech-language pathologists report that they are not confident in their ability to help children deal with these consequences of stuttering. Clinicians also report uncertainty about meeting eligibility criteria, generalizing gains made in the therapy room to real-world situations, and dealing with problems like bullying. The purpose of this workshop is to provide clinicians with applicable, practical strategies for helping school-age children and adolescents who stutter overcome the problems associated with stuttering. The presentation will include: specific guidelines for conducting comprehensive evaluations that support treatment recommendations and goal-writing; detailed instructions for how to prepare children for therapy to ensure success; and video examples of numerous treatment strategies and activities designed to help children improve their fluency, reduce their negative reactions to stuttering, educate others about stuttering, and communicate effectively across speaking situations. Participants will come away from the workshop feeling more confident in their ability to help children who stutter and more knowledgeable about how to approach stuttering assessment and treatment in the school setting and beyond.

Tentative Agenda
9:00 - 9:30       Where Do I Begin? Understanding Stuttering

9:30 - 10:15     Conducting a Comprehensive Evaluation / Making Treatment Recommendations

10:15 - 10:30    Break

10:30 - 11:30    Laying the foundation for success

11:30 - 12:00    Packing the Toolbox: Techniques for Stuttering More Easily

12:00 - 1:00      Lunch (Provided)

1:00 - 1:30        More Tools for the Toolbox: Techniques for Easier Speech

1:30 - 2:00        What about that Stuttering Iceberg? Addressing the rest of the disorder

2:00 - 2:15        Break

2:15 - 3:00        No Child Is an Island: Addressing the Environment

Learning Objectives

Following this workshop, participants will be able to…

• Design efficient, effective, and comprehensive diagnostic evaluations of school-age children and adolescents who stutter
• Select and implement several appropriate treatment strategies for helping school-age children and adolescents who stutter speak more easily and communicate more effectively
• Write meaningful, objective treatment goals and benchmarks to document progress in treatment across the entirety of the stuttering disorder
• Help students identify, understand, and overcome affective and cognitive reactions to stuttering
• Describe several ways to effectively involve families, teachers, and others in the treatment plan
• Effectively address challenging situations such as bullying and teasing, low motivation, difficulties with generalization, and more

Bio:

J. Scott Yaruss is a Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University. In addition to conducting research on the development of stuttering in young children, Dr. Yaruss has extensive experience working with children and adults who stutter in a wide variety of clinical settings. He has served on the board of directors of the National Stuttering Association and on the Steering Committee of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Special Interest Division for Fluency Disorders. Dr. Yaruss has given more than 750 continuing education workshops around the world, all designed to help speech-language pathologists feel more confident in their ability to help preschool and school-age children, adolescents, and adults who stutter. He has authored or coauthored more than 400 papers, articles, blog posts, chapters, or booklets on stuttering. He is also co-author of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES), as well as School-age Stuttering Therapy: A Practical Guide, Early Childhood Stuttering Therapy: A Practical Guide, Minimizing Bullying in Children Who Stutter, and other guides published by Stuttering Therapy Resources. (www.StutteringTherapyResources.com).

Cost:  $140 for CESA 10 Special Education Professional Development member districts; $35 for University Students (See note below); $165 to all others.

Workshop questions: Contact Austin Hiess, ahiess@cesa10.k12.wi.us

Registration questions: Contact Shari Owen, sowen@cesa10.k12.wi.us, 715-720-2060

Note:  University students should contact Shari Owen (sowen@cesa10.k12.wi.us) for price adjustment.  You can also leave a note when you register and I will make the adjustment.

This is a hybrid event; participants may attend in person or virtually.