The Family Groove | Charity of the Month | The Stuttering Foundation

TALKING POINTS
JANE FRASER, PRESIDENT OF THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION OF AMERICA,
TELLS TFG ABOUT THE FOUNDATION HER FATHER STARTED AND GIVES
SOUND ADVICE ON HOW TO HELP KIDS SPEAK EASY

The Stuttering Foundation

THE FAMILY GROOVE: What was your father’s inspiration for starting the Stuttering Foundation of America?
Jane Fraser: My father had a severe stutter when he decided to start the Stuttering Foundation. He hoped that through bringing experts in the field together that guidelines could be established that would help both children and adults who stutter. His first gift on Dec. 31, 1947, was for $2,500. In those years, $5,000 would buy a new house, so this was a considerable gift for a 44-year-old man. At the time, I should add, we lived in a house with one bathroom and had one car—hardly the Bill Gates of Memphis. Over the years, he continued to endow the foundation with gifts so that in 2008, 55 percent of our annual income is from his endowment.

TFG: How do you know if your child has a stuttering problem?
JF: If a child is struggling to speak, repeats sounds or syllables a lot, or locks on words, you will probably know instinctively to be concerned.

TFG: Why are girls more likely to outgrow stuttering than boys?
JF: Girls outgrow more of all the developmental disorders than boys. Researchers still don’t know exactly why, but the answer to this question is actively being researched on many levels.

Speech-language pathologist Kristin Chmela,
MA, CCC-SLP, works with a young child.

TFG: Are there other issues that might go along with a child stuttering that parents should be aware of?
JF: Many children go through a period of normal disfluent speech as they learn to talk. It is important not to panic if you hear your child repeating syllables and sounds as he or she learns to talk.

TFG: What should parents do if they think that their child has a stutter?
JF: The Stuttering Foundation offers seven tips of ways parents can help all their children at www.stutteringhelp.org. Parents can also watch an instructive DVD via streaming, Stuttering and Your Child: Help for Parents. If the stuttering is very severe, or if the child has been stuttering for more than six months, consult a speech-language pathologist. A list can also be found on the site as well.

TFG: What would parents have to do to get their child into speech therapy in their local school?
JF: Our brochure “Special Education Law and Stuttering” helps parents navigate how to find help through their school district. If the child attends elementary school, his teacher may recommend he be screened if there are concerns about the way he talks. Parents may also ask the teacher to have their child screened. If the child is in preschool, a parent can contact the local school district and ask that the preschooler be screened for stuttering. Also, the child’s pediatrician may make a referral to the local school district because of concerns about the child’s talking.

TFG: Is private speech therapy covered by health insurance?
JF: Sometimes. Parents need to refer to their own policy.

TFG: What are the short-term and long-term goals of the foundation?
JF: We are committed to continuing to provide up-to-date, effective resources for people who stutter; specialized training for speech-language pathologists in how to best work with children, teens and adults who stutter; and support of ongoing research into the causes of stuttering.

TFG: What do our readers need to know about stuttering?
JF: Stuttering is the only disability that people still make fun of, primarily because it is so misunderstood. To debunk the many misconceptions about the disorder, the Stuttering Foundation has published a new brochure, “Myths about Stuttering,” available on our website.

TFG: How can our readers help?
JF: One way readers can help is to encourage their local public libraries and school libraries to shelve books and DVDs to help educate others about stuttering. The Stuttering Foundation has numerous materials, and many are offered free to libraries. Because donations from the public are what enable us to carry on our crucial work, we would also want readers to know that a gift of any size is welcome and will be used wisely in helping those who stutter.

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