Office Hours: The Professor Is In

Office Hours: The Professor is In

The following university professors have agreed to serve as a panel to answer appropriately-posed questions about stuttering. This is especially designed as a good opportunity for parents of children who stutter, and for children, teens, and for adults who stutter to ask questions of several highly qualified specialists in the area of stuttering. Please do not use this forum to develop on-going discussion about various topics.

	Stephen B. Hood, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Professor and the former Department Chair and Clinic Director of the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at the University of South Alabama. His master's and doctoral degrees are from the University of Wisconsin. Steve is a Fellow of ASHA, a Member of the ASHA SID-4, and is a certified fluency specialist. The majority of his publications are in the area of stuttering, he has been active in the National Stuttering Association since 1978, and he was selected as the NSA Speech-Language Pathologist of the year for 2000.
	Judith Kuster, M.S., CCC-SLP, has an M.S. in speech-language pathology and M.S. in counseling. She is an associate professor in Communication Disorders at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is the webmaster for Net Connections for Communication Disorders and Sciences and the Stuttering Home Page as well as the coordinator of this online conference. She holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	Richard Mallard is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of North Texas and his Ph.D. is from Purdue University. Dr. Mallard is a Fellow of ASHA and holds Specialty Recognition in Fluency Disorders from the Clinical Specialty Board of ASHA. Dr. Mallard has conducted intensive stuttering programs for children and adults since 1976 and currently works with families of children who stutter in intensive, non-intensive, and email/Internet formats in both university and private practice settings.
	Walter Manning, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a professor and Associate Dean in the School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at The University of Memphis. He teaches courses in fluency disorders and research methods. He has published more than 60 articles in a variety of professional journals and has presented on many occasions to regional, national, and international meetings. He is the author of a text titled "Clinical decision making in the diagnosis and treatment of fluency disorders." He is a fellow of ASHA and has received the honors of Tennessee Association of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists. He holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	Larry Molt, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is the chair of the Department of Communication Disorders and director of the Neuroprocesses Research Laboratory at Auburn University. He is ASHA certified in both speech-language pathology and audiology, and an ASHA CSB board-recognized fluency specialist. He is the associate coordinator/coordinator-elect of ASHA Special Interest Division 4: Fluency and Fluency Disorders, on the executive board of the International Fluency Association, and a member of the National Stuttering Association research committee. His research involves EEG topographic mapping of brain activity in a variety of speech, language and auditory disorders, with a prominent interest in stuttering.
	Bob Quesal, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a professor at Western Illinois University where he serves as Program Director. He is a member of the Steering Committee for ASHA's Special Interest Division 4 (Fluency and Fluency Disorders) and is a member of the National Stuttering Association's Research Committee. He is recognized as a Fluency Specialist by the Specialty Board in Fluency Disorders.
	Nan Bernstein Ratner, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is Professor and Chairman, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland at College Park. She holds degrees in Child Development, Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Psycholinguistics. Dr. Ratner is the editor of six volumes, and the author of more than 30 articles and 20 chapters addressing stuttering and language acquisition in children. She currently serves as Co-editor of Seminars in Speech and Language, Associate Editor of the Journal of Fluency Disorders and The American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, and is Coordinator of the Steering Committee for ASHA's Special Interest Division #4 (Fluency and Fluency Disorders).
	Peter Ramig, Ph.D., CCC/SLP is professor, associate chair and director of graduate studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder. His primary research interest area is on issues pertaining to children and adults who stutter. He also conducts treatment for children and adults who stutter, supervises therapy in the CU Speech, Language and Hearing Center, and teaches, among other things, graduate-level courses in stuttering. Peter has participated in the development of the SFA videotapes on child, teenage, and adult stuttering. He holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	Kenneth O. St. Louis, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, (West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia), has specialized in the area of fluency disorders for his entire professional career. He routinely treats people who stutter clinically, leads a support group for stuttering, does research in fluency disorders, and teaches courses to undergraduate and graduate students. He is currently pursuing research interests in cluttering, public attitudes toward stuttering, and stories of those who stutter. He holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	Lynne Shields, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is currently a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Communication Disorders Dept. at Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO. where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and supervises in on-campus clinic. She teaches in the areas of fluency, language disorders, and assessment. She holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	John A. Tetnowski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor and the Ben Blanco Memorial Endowed Professor in Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a "Fluency Specialist" approved by ASHA's specialty commission on fluency disorders. He has treated people who stutter for over 15 years. .
	Dale F. Williams, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Florida Atlantic University, where he serves as Director of the Fluency Clinic. He is also a consultant with Language Learning Intervention and Professional Speech Services, Inc. A person who stutters, Dr. Williams co-founded the Boca Raton chapter of the National Stuttering Association. He holds Specialty Recognition from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders and was recently named as a Fluency Specialist Mentor.
	J. Scott Yaruss, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Co-director of the Stuttering Center of Western Pennsylvania. Yaruss's research focuses on the development of stuttering in children, including analysis of linguistic and motoric factors that affect children's fluency. Yaruss also studies the evaluation of treatment outcomes for adolescents, and adults who stutter. He holds Specialty Certification in Fluency Disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.