Treating School-Age Children Who Stutter: Objectives and Activities
Power Point Presentations to Use or Adapt
The following individuals have developed PowerPoint presentations for various audiences. In some cases there are also handouts to accompany the presentations. The presentations may be used or adapted to meet your needs. However, please give credit to where you found them (ISAD 2005) and to the original authors.
- Treating School-Age Children Who Stutter: Objectives and Activities by Craig Coleman, Amy Zerhusen, and Rebecca Roccon.
- Siblings & Friends: A PowerPoint presentation to educate the friends and families of children who stutter by Diane Games
- So you've been asked to do a presentation to your fellow SLPs about stuttering......Now what? by Lynne Shields
- Stuttering: Fiction or Fact by Irv Wollman and Katrina Zeit
Treating School-Age Children Who Stutter: Objectives and Activities
by Craig Coleman and Rebecca Roccon (Pennsylvania, USA) and Amy Zerhusen (Ohio, USA)
Writing appropriate treatment goals is critical for success in any treatment program. Often, goals written for children who stutter amount to little more than "Johnny will speak fluently 80% of the timel". Goals such as these are not useful. First, the child could be stuttering 20% of the time and still meeting the goal. Second, the goal targets only the reduction in number of disfluencies without addressing how the child will be able to achieve this reduction. This powerpoint and handout encourage clinicians to write goals that target all aspects of stuttering, not just the number of observable speech disfluencies. The powerpoint provides an overview of goals and activities for school-age children who stutter. The second resource is a handout in PDF format gives specific examples of goals that can be written to target the entire stuttering disorder.
These materials were originally prepared by the authors for the 2004 Pennsylvania Speech-Language and Hearing Association convention and may be useful especially for individual clinicians who work with children who stutter or can be adapted (with proper attribution) for discussion by small groups of clinicians. Student clinicians and interns working with children who stutter will find therapy ideas for their clients and parents of children who stutter may find appropriate ideas for IEP meetings with their child's IEP team.
Powerpoint: Treatment School-Age Children Who Stutter: Objectives and Activities
Handout: Writing Goals and Objectives
Siblings & Friends: A PowerPoint presentation to educate the friends and families of children who stutter
by Diane Games (Ohio, USA)
Intensive treatment programs such as Weekend Workshop and Fluency Friday Plus (Cincinnati, Ohio) have recognized the need to work with families of children and teens who stutter. A person who stutters must function in the family unit and with friends on a daily basis. Therefore, opportunities to educate family members and friends are important.
This PowerPoint presentation was developed in response to a request from Donna Cooperman and Sister Charleen Bloom to lead an hour long educational session with the siblings of the children/teens participating in the 30th Annual Weekend Workshop at The College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York. During the presentation, five siblings participated along with six parents. Interaction during the presentation was lively, and the students finished the hour writing letters and drawing pictures for their sibling who stuttered. These letters were given to the sibling prior to the graduation ceremony on the final day of the weekend.
While the majority of the audience was young, one sibling was in her early twenties. The participants had many questions and comments about stuttering; some accurate and some distorted. All answers and comments were reviewed and discussed in such a way to encourage continued interaction. Parents commented that the simplicity and wording of the presentation helped them to focus on issues to discuss with family. Several children seemed to enjoy talking about their sibling.
The PowerPoint presentation is designed to last approximately one hour including the drawing or writing of the letter to the sibling/friend. The following slide notes were included at the bottom of the each slide to provide information concerning possible discussion points explored in the presentation.
Slide 2 is an "ice breaker". The children were asked whether they thought this statement was true. Four siblings raised their hands for the "yes" response. This lead the discussion to the following slides.
Slide 3 These statements were reviewed. The children were encouraged to comment or ask questions during this part of the presentation.
Slide 4 These facts were discussed with the siblings. We talked about the difference between stuttering and disfluent speech. We also discussed how many people "1%" would be using the comparison to filling up a stadium several times..
Slide 5 During this slide, I demonstrated the various types of disfluencies. Several of the children commented on the type of stuttering their brother/sister used when talking.
Slide 6 Stuttering can be more than disfluencies. The children talked about times they were anxious or afraid. Comparisons to sports were used to help the siblings understand that feelings make someone feel more fearful or tense.
Slide 7 Siblings need to be empowered to feel important and involved in caring for other members of the family. This slide allows the presenter to discuss how important the siblings are to their brother/sister who stutters.
Slide 8 This slide can be done with an audience "experiment". One child can talk while another "cuts in" to the conversation. This type of spontaneous experiment can lead to discussion concerning how to help a brother/sister who stutters by talking turns and not rushing an answer.
Slide 9 Teasing is another important topic to discuss with siblings. The discussion prompted the siblings to recall times when they had been teased. All agreed that teasing is not fun.
Slide 10 The summary of issues concerning teasing.
Slide 11 The siblings like this slide. They talked about their strengths and weaknesses. This discussion helped the children put stuttering in the proper perspective.
Slide 12 This final task yielded wonderful letters/pictures from the siblings. Their additional understanding of stuttering made this a special project. One high school sibling stayed after the presentation and tearfully read her letter to her brother. A concluding component of this presentation is reminding siblings that they did cause the stuttering, but they can help their sibling by understanding more about the disorder.
Powerpoint: Siblings & Friends: A PowerPoint presentation to educate the friends and families of children who stutter
Handout: Stutter is______
So you've been asked to do a presentation to your fellow SLPs about stuttering..... Now what?
Lynne Shields St. Louis, Missouri, USA
One of the pleasures of working as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in the area of fluency disorders is being invited to speak to groups of SLPs about stuttering. The presentation time varies in length from an hour to a full day, covering assessment and treatment of preschoolers, school aged, and/or adolescent children. Each presentation allows me to interact with large numbers of clinicians. Some of the SLPs come to the presentation with good basic knowledge about stuttering. They are generally most interested in gaining some new ideas about the management of stuttering, or have specific questions related to clients they are currently serving. Others are less experienced in working with children who stutter, and want to learn basic information and resources to help them gain skills in this area. So, I try to include information that will address both of these levels of interest.
The PowerPoint slide show attached to this paper is one that can serve as a framework for a presentation to other SLPs who work with children who stutter. This particular slide show focuses on working with older children. I change the content depending on the audience, the specific topic I've been asked to address, and the time I am allotted for the session. Neither an hour-long nor a half-day format will allow for in-depth coverage of the area of stuttering assessment and treatment, so I try to focus on practical ideas, and supplement the slide show with examples, video clips, and with a list of resources that are available in print or in the form of Internet websites. When possible, I ask that clinicians who will be attending the session to submit specific questions that they have about stuttering prior to the presentation date. This allows me to tailor the presentation, and the accompanying slides, to fit the audience. I also encourage participants to ask questions as they arise during the presentation, to be sure that I am giving sufficient information and meeting the needs of the audience.
It is my belief that one of the most important goals of a presentation is to increase the comfort level of the attending SLPs in working with people who stutter. I find that many clinicians are apprehensive about working with children and adults who stutter, even those who have successfully worked with such clients in the past. So, I try to use some humor (see the beginning of the slide show), and to present practical ideas that encourage the SLPs to work as a team with their clients, teachers and parents. Providing good resources is also quite helpful in giving SLPs a way to continue their own learning in the area of stuttering. Some of these can be seen on the sample handout that is attached to this paper.
The availability of computer technology allows for wonderful opportunities to present information to others about stuttering. But, the slickest PowerPoint slide show or a hefty stack of handouts cannot substitute for the feeling of empowerment. The use of slides, videos, and handouts are simply tools to facilitate the job of helping SLPs hone their skills and enhance their ability to help people who stutter manage their speech. I don't always get through my entire set of slides, nor cover all of the materials on my handouts. I would say that, when I first began presenting on stuttering, I was much more focused on getting through the material. And, boy did I cram material into whatever time I was allotted! I suspect that those who attended any of my early presentations left with a feeling of information overload. I'm not at all sure that they would have been able to sift through all of that information to find concrete clinical nuggets. Over the years, I have learned that it is much more fruitful to focus on the participants than on the 'show'. When clinicians leaves a presentation feeling that their questions are answered and with a few new ideas to try out in therapy, I believe that I have accomplished my goal. I also hope that they will leave with the idea that working with people who stutter can be both rewarding and enjoyable.
I am interested in hearing from readers who have made presentations and from those who are interested in doing so. Perhaps some of you might share what you have found useful in workshops that you have either attended or presented. Thank you for reading this paper and for any comments or questions that you wish to share on this forum.
Powerpoint: Fluency Treatment for Big Kids
Handout: Resource List: Working with Big Kids Who Stutter
Fact or Fiction
by Irv Wollman and Katrina Zeit (Ohio, USA)
"Fact of Fiction" was developed as an interactive game which was initially used during classroom presentations about stuttering. It was designed to facilitate further desensitization for the student who stutters and at the same time educate fellow classmates about various aspects of the disorder in a light-hearted, yet factual way. The concept was derived from ESPN's Sports Center program in which two "authorities" debate a specific point of interest with humorous and descriptive information to support their claims. In our Fact or Fiction game we present an idea (e.g. "stuttering is contagious") and then ask two experts to argue the statement from opposite points of view. After each argument is presented, the students then decide with a show of hands, who told the "truth" and who presented the false, erroneous information. Our clinicians have had a great deal of fun presenting outrageous statements and information supporting their point of contention and our clients as well as their classmates have responded with great enthusiasm. Once the clarifying information is revealed, further discussion typically evolves regarding myths and realities. Areas to target can be dependent upon the age level of the client and his/her fellow classmates. We have also asked our own clients to help us create slides for the debatable points of interest.
Powerpoint: Fact or Fiction
