George H. Shames

In Memoriam - George Shames

SHAMES GEORGE H. On Sunday, March 1, 2015. Beloved husband of Joan "Josie" (Kramer) Shames; cherished father of Hilary Julia Shames and Matthew Eric Shames (Jennifer McGarrity); brother-in-law of Ann (late Lloyd) Kramer, the late Barbara (late Jack) Shore, the late Vida (late Nicholas) Demas; grandfather of Lisa and Heidi Langhorst and Ella and Jackson Shames; uncle of Erika (Barry) Wofsy, Deborah Shore (Andy Henson), Dr. David Shore (Karen Catoe), Benita "Bonnie" (Joseph) Dombrowski, Rebecca Demas, Geoffrey Kramer and Benjamin Kramer. George was a WWII veteran serving in the U.S. Navy in Pearl Harbor. He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh having earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees and also was a letterman in baseball. Upon graduating, George became a professor of Communication Disorders and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, in which position he served for 40 years. He wrote and edited numerous textbooks in the area of speech pathology. He received numerous awards and honors, including being named as a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), and in 2006 received ASHA's highest recognition with the Honors of the Association award for lifetime achievement. He lectured all over the world in his special interest in stuttering. He developed an innovative therapy toward treatment of stuttering disorders. After his retirement, George wrote mystery novels including "The Company of Truth" which was published in 2005. He was also elected to the Western PA Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. George enjoyed traveling, a good cigar and watching sports on TV. Services at RALPH SCHUGAR CHAPEL, INC., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Visitation one hour prior to services (10 - 11 a.m.). Interment Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Alzheimer Disease Research Center, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. (published in the Schugar Funeral Home obituaries and Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Professional Contributions

Numerous articles and book chapters including:

Starkweather, C. Woodruff, Ed, Conditioning in Stuttering Therapy: applications and Limitations. Publication No. 7, Speech Foundation of America, 1970, has a chapter by Shames - "Operant Conditioning and Therapy for Stuttering" - pp. 17-36
Donald B. Egolf, George H. Shames, Peter R. Johnson, and Arlene Kasprisin-Burrelli (1972) The Use of Parent-Child Interaction Patterns in Therapy for Young Stutterers Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, May 1972, Vol. 37, 222-232. doi:10.1044/jshd.3702.22
Shames, Egolf, and Rhodes (1969) Experimental programs in stuttering therapy. ]. Speech Hearing Dis., 34, 30-47
Donald B. Egolf, George H. Shames, and Janet J. Blind (1971) The Combined Use of Operant Procedures and Theoretical Concepts in the Treatment of an Adult Female Stutterer JSHD

Professional books:

Shames, George H. (1972) Verbal reinforcement during therapy with stutterers
Shames, George H. and Egolf, Donald (1976) Operant Conditioning and the Management of Stuttering: A Book for Clinicians, Prentice Hall (March 1976)
Shames, George H. and Florance, Cheri (1080 Stutter-Free Speech (1980) Merrill Pub Co (January 1980)
Human Communications has gone through several editions with various co-authors, including:
- George H and Elisabeth H. Wiig (1986) Human Communication Disorders (2nd edition), Merrill
- Anderson, Noma and Shames, George H. (2010) Human Communication Disorders: An Introduction (8th Edition) (Allyn & Bacon Communication Sciences and Disorders)
Shames, George H. and Rubin, Herbert (1986) Stuttering: Then and Now, Merrill Pub Co
Shames, George H. (2006) Counseling the Communicatively Disabled and Their Families: A Manual for Clinicians, Second Edition, Psychology Press; 2 edition

Other professional contributions:

Audio of George Shames speaking at the 1984 ASHA Convention panel in memory of Joseph Sheehan.
Teaching Older People to Become Better Listeners to Avoid Alienating Others script and audio of interview with George Shames on VOA Learning English.

Other Publications

Shames, George H (2006) The Company of Truth, Towers Maguire Publishing
Towers Maguire Publishing where the book can be purchased has put online the following author information, reviews of this book, and information about the book written to help educate the public about stuttering.

About the Author

Renowned speech-language pathologist and psychologist George H. Shames, PhD is dedicated to educating the public about the challenges of stuttering and the assistance that is available to those afflicted. An engaging speaker, he is the author of numerous professional books and articles. He has been a leader in the profession for over 40 years, teaching in the Department of Communication Disorders and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh where he developed many innovative methods for treating fluency disorders. Shames has played important roles in the American Speech and Hearing Association and been the recipient of numerous federal research grants, an invited speaker before many of his colleagues, and a guest lecturer throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Great Britain, Israel and Japan. He now has turned his attention to fiction writing as a tool to bring attention to the approximately three million Americans, and in turn, their friends and families, who struggle with this condition.

About the book

George H. Shames is a man with a mission and an unusual tool for fulfilling it. A retired speech-language pathologist and psychologist from the University of Pittsburgh, he has turned his attention to fiction writing and in doing so uses his latest story to educate the public about the challenges of stuttering while also telling a tale of suspense and love. Set in Pittsburgh, PA, The Company of Truth introduces us to young Hank Miller who struggles to overcome the frustrations and cruelties associated with being a child who stutters. In spite of loving parents and a spirited friend, he copes daily with his inability to communicate with others and the pain of being the target of schoolyard torment. Hank undergoes a transformation during his late teen years when his family stumbles upon a new therapy that helps him to control this socially isolating disability. Unfortunately, he soon stumbles into a nightmare as well, one that brings into question his character, his future and even his life. The author follows Hank through conviction of a heinous crime he insists he didn't commit, numbing years in the federal prison system, and, finally, redemption through the very curse that convicted him in the first place--stuttering. "I tried to make the story work on multiple levels," says the author. "The truth can get you into trouble as well as get you out of trouble, crimes are committed, people fall in and out of love. In the end, though, I hope readers are not only entertained but also walk away with a little bit more understanding of the difficulties associated with stuttering. There's hope, too, because there are successful treatments as my young protagonist finds." The author's years as a nationally renowned speech-language pathologist and psychologist serve the story well, providing an unusual and painfully realistic underpinning to a yarn of murder and mystery.

Some reviews of the book

We know who DIDN'T commit murder. . . but who did. Follow Hank as he escapes from one prison only to find himself locked into another far tougher one.

"A good read and a truthful portrayal of the human and clinical challenges of those who stutter." Jane Fraser, President, The Stuttering Foundation

"If you are looking to take a break from journal and textbook reading but still gain some perspective on stuttering, [this] may be just what you need....can help speech-language pathologists get a sense of the struggle that those who stutter face throughout their lives....It is a fun ride that we can learn from along the way..." Craig E. Coleman, MA, CCC-SLP, review in Advance (a magazine for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists)

". . . An interesting story combined with a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by a person experiencing an embarrassing, frustrating, and often disabling stuttering problem." Peter R. Ramig, Ph.D., University of Colorado.

"With his considerable expertise in communication disorders and psychology, Shames has created a sympathetic character who puts a human face on the struggles experienced every day by people who stutter. The story of Hank's early years will be instantly recognizable to anybody who stutters, and the story helps shed light on an often misunderstood disorder." J. Scott Yaruss, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

TRIBUTES

Judy Kuster:

I only met Dr. Shames in person once, at an ASHA convention. He was in a publisher's booth and I recognized him immediately from pictures I had seen, and of course recognized his name associated with a long career in publishing books and articles on stuttering (and general communication disorders texts) and a recent book on counseling and communication disorders. He was very gracious and pretended to recognize me;-). In 2006 he consented to write an article (a href="http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad9/papers/shames9.html">The Culture of Stuttering) for the International Stuttering Awareness Day online conference where he sent the following short biographical sketch:

George H. Shames, Ph.D. CCC/SLP, is Professor Emeritus after a 40-year career at the University of Pittsburgh where he was Director of their Speech Clinic, supervised practicum and was Director of the graduate program in Communication Disorders. He is an ASHA Fellow, a licensed Clinical Psychologist. He has authored books on stuttering, counseling, and speech pathology. His latest book is The Company of Truth, a novel about a young man who stutters. He developed a therapy for stuttering known as "Stutter-Free Speech," and has invented three FDA approved biofeedback devices.

Mark Power:

Dr. George Shames changed my life in 1982. I was a severe stutterer at the time and just about got fired from my staff position at a rehabilitation hospital out here in California. When they came around to me for a report, I had a 30 sec. block. Dr. Shames, with his colleague Cheri L. Florance, had just developed the Stutter-Free Speech Program. I flew to Pittsburgh, spent a week in individual intensive therapy and found myself striking up conversations with gas station mechanics on the drive home - something that a stutterer would never do if he didn't absolutely have to. After a full year of carefully monitored transfer, I spoke on a local TV show about my recovery for a half hour interview. My career to help others who stutter using George's great program took me as far as Hong Kong where I was asked to train the Chinese school SLP's there. All this would not have happened without the training and encouragement of Dr. Shames. His expertise in both psychology and speech pathology has helped innumerable people who stutter.

We want to thank you, George, for dedicating your life to easing the pain and suffering of us all and showing us that we could do anything we wanted regardless of stuttering.