Office Hours: The Professor Is In

The following professionals 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.

	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 and voice; Chair of the Website development for the International Cluttering Association.
	Kevin Eldridge Ph.D., began working with people who stutter and their families 20 years ago. He received recognition as a Board Recognized Specialist in 1999, and currently serves as Vice-chair of the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders. Kevin is in private practice working exclusively with people who stutter and their families. Kevin, along with friend and colleague Michael Retzinger, recently developed a treatment program that combines a 5-day small group therapy experience with 8 months of follow up using teletherapy. (keldridgephd@gmail.com)
	Diane Games M.A. is a licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologist and co-owner of Tri-County Speech Associates, Inc. a private practice in the Cincinnati area. She is a Board Recognized Specialist in Fluency Disorders and part of the Initial Cadre of fluency specialists. Professional activities have included the presidency of the Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Association and honors of OSLHA in 1994. She also teaches a graduate level course in Fluency and Fluency Disorders at Miami University. She has presented several workshops on the treatment of fluency disorders and has coordinated the Fluency Friday Plus project in the Cincinnati area for the last ten years.
	E. Charles Healey is a professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska for the past 35 years. During his career, he has received a University Distinguished Teaching Award, the honors of the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and last year was inducted into the University of Kentucky Alumni Hall of Fame. 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.
	Judith Kuster M.S. in speech-language pathology and M.S. in counseling, is an ASHA Fellow and and emeritus 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 is a member of the Special Interest Group #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.
	Lisa LaSalle Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a Board Recognized Specialist in Fluency Disorders and a professor at the University of Redlands in the Department of Communicative Disorders where she teaches fluency disorders, and evidence-based practice/research, voice, and speech and hearing science coursework. She supervises graduate clinicians who work with clients with fluency disorders. Dr. LaSalle has authored journal articles on the topic of childhood stuttering, and she is currently conducting research on the topics of cluttering and atypical fluency disorders.
	Kenneth Logan, Ph.D., CCC/SLP is a member of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Florida, where he teaches, conducts research, and conducts/supervises clinical activities related to fluency disorders. He has presented many papers and authored a number of articles that deal with the nature and treatment of stuttering.
	Richard Mallard is in private practice, specializing in family intervention with children who stutter. 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
	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 80 articles in a variety of professional journals and has presented on many occasions to regional, national, and international meetings. He is author of the 2010 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 associate 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 Group and of the International Fluency Association. He has worked with children and adults who stutter for over twenty-five years.
	Scott Palasik, PhD, CCC-SLP, graduated from Bowling Green State University with his PhD (specializing in Fluency disorders) and completed both his BS and MS from Syracuse University in Communication Disorders. In between his MS and PhD, Scott spent seven years around Chicago as a Speech-Language Pathologist providing services to children and adults in schools and nursing facilities. Currently he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Akron. He's published research, teaches Stuttering and TBI, presented at ASHA and state conferences, and is developing the MASS Stuttering Treatment Approach.
	Nan Bernstein Ratner, Ed.D., C.C.C. is Professor and Chair, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland at College Park. She is the editor of numerous volumes, and author of numerous chapters and articles addressing language acquisition and fluency in children. Dr. Ratner currently serves as Co-editor of Seminars in Speech and Language.She is a frequently-invited presenter at state, national and international speech, language and hearing association meetings. Dr. Ratner is an ASHA fellow, was a member of the original cadre of Board Recognized Fluency Specialists, and received the 2006 Distinguished Research Award from the International Fluency Association.
	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.
	Jean Sawyer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an associate professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Illinois State University. Dr. Sawyer teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in fluency and counseling, and has developed two online courses devoted to working with preschool and school-age children who stutter. She serves as co-chapter leader of a local group of the National Stuttering Association. Her research is in clinical measures of stuttering, the distribution of disfluencies in stuttered speech, and treatment of stuttering in preschool children.
	Lisa Scott, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is Director of Clinical Education in the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University. She directs the L. L. Schendel Speech and Hearing Clinic, teaches courses in stuttering and counseling, and maintains an active clinical practice. She is the Vice President for Education for the Stuttering Foundation of America, a consultant to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration's Bureau of Medicaid Services, and is a former Coordinator for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association's Special Interest Division 10, Issues in Higher Education.
	David A. Shapiro, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ASHA Fellow, Board Recognized Fluency Specialist, is the Robert Lee Madison Distinguished Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, North Carolina,). Shapiro provides clinical services for people who stutter, is a regular presenter at conferences and has taught workshops, provided clinical service, and conducted research in six continents. His book, Stuttering Intervention: A Collaborative Journey to Fluency Freedom, is in its 2nd edition (2011, PRO-ED). Dr. Shapiro is involved in the International Fluency Association and International Stuttering Association, received IFA's 2006 Award of Distinction for Outstanding Clinician and was elected IFA President in 2012. He is a person who stutters, has two adult children with his wife, Kay, and lives near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
	Ken St. Louis , is a professor of speech-language pathology at West Virginia University (WVU). In his 40-year career, he has taught courses in fluency disorders to prospective speech-language pathologists, carried out research related to stuttering and cluttering, treated adults and children with fluency disorders, and participated in self-help activities, and was co-founder of both the International Fluency Association and the International Cluttering Association. Ken's current research focuses on public attitudes toward stuttering worldwide.
	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.
	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 Outstanding 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. Scott Yaruss, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-FD, ASHA Fellow, is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Coordinator of Clinical Research at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has contributed to more than 125 publications, including the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES) and School-Age Stuttering Therapy: A Practical Guide. Scott is a frequent presenter of workshops aimed at helping clinicians improve their evaluation and treatment of people who stutter.