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.

	Charley Adams PhD, CCC-SLP, is a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina in Communication Sciences and Disorders. He teaches coursework on stuttering and fluency disorders. Adams is an NSA chapter leader in Columbia, SC and is the mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter Coordinator. He is the newsletter editor for the International Cluttering Association and is a member of the ASHA Special Interest Division 4: Fluency and Fluency Disorders. He also served on the 2009 Convention Program Committee.
	Barbara J. Amster, PhD, CCC/SLP is the founding Director of La Salle University's graduate and undergraduate programs in Speech-Language-Hearing Science. She has more than 30 years of clinical experience and holds Specialty Board Recognition in Fluency Disorders. Her master's degree is from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate from Temple University. She is an ASHA Fellow. She has published on the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for people who stutter, as well as the speech-language development of young children in foster care.
	Klaas Bakker, Ph.D./CCC-SLP, associated with Missouri State University since 1990; specializes in fluency disorders; research focus on fluency disorders (assessment and diagnostic evaluation of cluttering and stuttering); develops new technologies for the assessment and measurement of clinical aspects of speech (dys)fluency; Associate Editor for the Journal of Fluency Disorders; Chair of the Website development for the International Cluttering Association.
	Joseph Donaher, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-FD coordinates the Stuttering Program at the Center for Childhood Communication at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Donaher is an Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at The University of Pennsylvania and instructor of Communication Sciences at Temple University. His clinical and research interests focus on the assessment and treatment of school-aged children who stutter and disfluency patterns secondary to neurological conditions such as Tourette Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
	Dennis Drayna, serves as Chief of the Section on Systems Biology of Communication Disorders at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Drayna received his Bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1976, and his PhD in Genetics at Harvard University in 1981. He performed postdoctoral research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah, after which he spent 12 years in the biotechnology industry in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1996 he joined the NIH, where his research is focused on genetics of human communication disorders. Dr. Drayna serves on the Board of Directors of the Stuttering Foundation of America, and has a long standing interest in understanding the underlying causes of stuttering.
	Rodney Gabel,Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-FD, is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and an Associate Professor at Bowling Green State University. Dr.Gabel earned his BS and MS from Bowling Green State University, and his Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Gabel teaches courses in stuttering, guides students' research, and directs BGSU's Intensive Stuttering Clinic for Adolescents and Adults. He actively conducts research and has published research articles, all dealing with stuttering. Rod is active in consulting and presenting seminars/workshops in Ohio and around the country.
	E. Charles Healey, is a professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska for the past 30 years. During his career, he has received a University Distinguished Teaching Award, the honors of the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and a distinguished alumni award from the University of Kentucky. He also is an ASHA Fellow and a Board Recognized Specialist in Fluency Disorders. Charlie has published many journal articles and book chapters concerning adults and children with fluency disorders. He also has presented numerous workshops and seminars on the diagnosis and treatment of stuttering in school-age children who stutter.
	Joe Klein is a person who stutters and an assistant professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY. Joe supervises therapy for people who stutter and teaches classes in fluency disorders. Joe has presented nationally at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Friends: The Association of Young People who Stutter, and The National Stuttering Association conventions. He has also published articles in Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Journal of Fluency Disorders, and The Journal of Stuttering Therapy, Advocacy, and Research. Joe lives in Albany, NY with his wife, Holly, and two children, Zachary and Greta.
	Judith Kuster M.S. in speech-language pathology and M.S. in counseling, is an ASHA Fellow and professor of Communication Disorders at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is the webmaster for the Stuttering Home Page as well as the coordinator of this online conference. She holds Specialty Recognition in Stuttering and is a member of the Division #4: Fluency and Fluency Disorders. She is the recipient of the ASHF DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement, the 2003 Distinguished Contributor Award from the International Fluency Association. a 2007 Outstanding Contribution Award from the International Stuttering Association, the 2008 ASHA Distinguished Contributor Award, and in 2009 named to the National Stuttering Association's Hall of Fame.
	Nathan E. Lavid, M.D., Long Beach, California, is clinical and forensic psychiatrist in private practice. He is a former faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He has presented at professional conferences on stuttering and authored a book on stuttering, Understanding Stuttering for the University Press of Mississippi, 2003.
	Richard Mallard is a consultant for the Seguin Independent School District, Seguin, Texas. He manages all the children who stutter in that district in addition to developing parent-based home programs for children of all ages regardless of communication problem. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of North Texas and his Ph.D. is from Purdue University. He worked professionally in the Alvin, Texas Independent School District and was on the faculties at Eastern Illinois, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and Texas State University where he retired in 2006. Dr. Mallard is a Fellow of ASHA and holds Specialty Recognition in Fluency Disorders from the Clinical Specialty Board of ASHA. Dr. Mallard and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of two grown sons and enjoy biking and gardening, respectively, as well as their two grandchildren.
	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 author of the text 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.
	Charlie Osborne is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point, Wisconsin where he teaches the fluency disorders course and other courses, supervises in clinic, and provides clinical services at St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point. He is a member of ASHA's Fluency and Fluency Disorders Special Interest Division and of the International Fluency Association. He has worked with children and adults who stutter for over twenty years.
	Gary Rentschler, Ph.D. CCC.SLP is Clinic Director in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he directs the Adult and Adolescent Stuttering Program. A board-recognized Fluency Specialist, Gary also was recognized as Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year 2002 by the National Stuttering Association.
	Kenneth St. Louis, Ph.D, professor at West Virginia University, is a mostly recovered stutterer. He has focused his entire career on fluency disorders with the primary goal of helping people who stutter. His work setting has been in higher education, where he has supervised graduate students doing therapy with stuttering and cluttering, taught courses in fluency disorders, and carried out research in stuttering and cluttering. St. Louis is a Board Recognized Specialist and Mentor in Fluency Disorders and author of Living With Stuttering: Stories, Resources, Basics, and Hope. He was awarded the first Deso Weiss Award for Excellence in Cluttering, which recognizes the international contribution of an individual to understanding about cluttering.
	David A. Shapiro, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Fellow of ASHA, a Board Recognized Fluency Specialist, and the Robert Lee Madison Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA. In his fourth decade of providing clinical services for people who stutter and their families, Dr. Shapiro is a regular presenter at state, national, and international conferences. His book, Stuttering Intervention: A Collaborative Journey to Fluency Freedom (PRO-ED), is finding a wide international audience. Dr. Shapiro is the 2006 recipient of the International Fluency Association's Award of Distinction for Outstanding Clinician. He is a person who stutters, has two children with his wife, Kay, and lives in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
	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 counseling. She holds Specialty Certification in fluency disorders from the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders.
	Ellen-Marie Silverman, TSS-The Speech Source, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, received the Ph.D. in speech pathology from the University of Iowa in 1970. Since then, she has been a Post-Doctoral Fellow in developmental psycholinguistics and a member of several university faculties and has provided clinical services in diverse service environments. She is an ASHA Fellow, and a member of SID#4. Dr. Silverman also has had training in transactional analysis, which she has used to form the structure of her clinical approach. The author of scientific and technical publications, several textbook chapters, and Jason's Secret, a novel for children about the nature and treatment of children's stuttering problems, she has presented at local, state, national, and international meetings.
	Vivian Sisskin, is an instructor and clinical supervisor in the department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, and was awarded the 2008 Excellence in Teaching Award by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. She is an ASHA Board Recognized Specialist in Fluency Disorders and serves as Coordinator for ASHA's Special Interest Division 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders. She has authored articles and continuing educational materials related to the treatment of stuttering in school-age children. In addition to assessment and treatment, her workshops include strategies for effective group therapy and supervision in the areas of fluency disorders. Vivian is a private practitioner in the Washington D.C. area.
	Greg Snyder, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Greg Snyder earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at East Carolina University. After graduation he was assistant professor in the Department of Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences at Gallaudet University. Currently he is an assistant professor at the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Mississippi.
	John A. Tetnowski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is the Ben Blanco Memorial Endowed Professor in Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a Board Recognized Fluency Specialist and Mentor. He has authored many articles on stuttering, and associated disorders, as well as papers on qualitative research and assessment procedures. He has treated people who stutter for over 15 years and was recently named the 2006 Oustanding Speech-Language Pathologist by the National Stuttering Association.
	Dale F. Williams, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-FD is a 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 board-recognized fluency specialist, Dr. Williams is the Chair of the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders and coordinator of the Boca Raton chapter of the National Stuttering Association. His 2006 book is entitled Stuttering Recovery: Personal and Empirical Perspectives (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.).
	J. David Williams,, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University (NIU), earned a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1954, specializing in stuttering. His career included teaching and clinical practice at Marshall University, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, the University of the Philippines (as a Fulbright lecturer), and NIU from 1959 until his 1986 retirement. Dr. Williams was active in the National Council of Stuttering for several years, organizing conferences and editing their quarterly newsletter. He and his wife, Dorothy, also a speech therapist, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in September 2009.
	J. Scott Yaruss, PhD, CCC-SLP is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh and Associate Director of the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. A Board-Recognized specialist in Fluency Disorders, Yaruss is the co-author of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES; Pearson Assessments) and the Source for Stuttering: Ages 7-18 (LinguiSystems).