When children start to stutter...
Help for Parents, Educators, Speech Therapists and Physicians

**NEW**

Our Advice, Consultation, and Education about Stuttering (ACES) program is a one-time (or as-needed) consultation service for parents and professionals in the community.  The ACES program is a low-cost way to answer any questions you, your family, or the families you serve may have about stuttering.

The purpose of the ACES program is to answer the questions of parents whose children stutter, such as “what causes stuttering?”, “will he grow out of it?”, and “what can I do right now?”.  The ACES program will also support parents by providing brochures, books and DVDs free of charge from the Stuttering Foundation of America (www.stutterhelp.org)..  The ACES program can also provide useful websites, blogs, and resources.  A particularly good web resource is hosted by Professor Emeritus Judith Kuster (Wisconsin native) associated with Minnesota State University at Mankato (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/). 

Community professionals can also take advantage of the ACES program as a professional development tool.  In an ACES consultation you will learn of ground-breaking brain scanning and genetic research in stuttering and discard old and incorrect information about what causes stuttering, when to wait for treatment, and which treatments work best.  Inservice consultations may also be available upon special request (e.g., pre-med students, education students, health care profession conferences and workshops, education conferences and workshops).

The ACES program is conducted by CSD students enrolled in clinical practicum under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Smits-Bandstra and Lori Griffin.  Dr. Smits-Bandstra has written multiple scientific journal articles on stuttering research and presented research findings about the causes and treatments of stuttering at many national and international conferences (see below).  Lori is SCSU’s resident clinical expert (and recent celebrity, www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102180007) with more than 15 years of experience working with children and adults who stutter.

Students participating in the ACES program will have the opportunity to learn principles of prevention and advocacy in the area of stuttering as well as community education, consultation and indirect methods of treatment.  Students also have opportunities to conduct research and present at local and national conventions.  CSD students at SCSU design and distribute brochures advocating for the rights and dignity of children and adults who stutter to the community every year.  Among other things, these brochures emphasize that early intervention, before age 5, is crucial to minimize and even prevent negative long-term effects associated with stuttering.

Presentations and Publications:

Smits-Bandstra, S. (2010). Methodological considerations in the measurement of reaction time in persons who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 35, 19-32.

Smits-Bandstra S., & De Nil, L. (2009). Speech skill learning of persons who stutter and fluent speakers under single and dual task conditions. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. 23, 38-57.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2007). Sequence skill learning in persons who stutter: implications for cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical dysfunction. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 32, 251-278.

Smits-Bandstra, S., De Nil, L. F., & Rochon, E. (2006). The transition to increased automaticity during finger sequence learning in adult males who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 31, 22-42.

Smits-Bandstra, S., De Nil, L. F., & Saint-Cyr, J. A. (2006). Speech and nonspeech sequence skill learning in adults who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 31, 116-131.

Smits-Bandstra, S. (2006). Lexical acquisition through segmentation. Journal of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, 30, 182-191.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & Yovetich, Y. (2003). Treatment effectiveness for school aged children who stutter. Journal of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, 27(2), 125.

Smits-Bandstra, S. (2003). The developmental consequences of Otitis Media. University of Toronto Medical Journal, 81, 132.

Invited Publications

De Nil, L. F., Sasisekaran, J., & Smits-Bandstra, S. (2004). Recent insights into the nature of stuttering: A review and some speculations. Logopedie, 17, 26-38.

National and Internation Conference Presentations

Smits-Bandstra, S., Bauerly, K., Kroll, B., Gracco, V., & De Nil, L. (2010) “Clinical Research in Adult Motor Speech Disorders and Fluency” [Abstract]. Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologists Conference Program.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & Gracco, V. (2009). Retention of speech sequence learning in stuttering and Parkinson’s disease [Abstract]. American Speech Hearing Association Conference Program, Session # 1051.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & Gracco, V. (2009). Comparing sequence learning and retention in stuttering and Parkinson’s disease [Abstract]. Proceedings from the Sixth World Congress of Fluency Disorders, (not yet published).

Smits-Bandstra, S., Gracco, V., & De Nil, L.F. (2009). Comparing sequence learning and retention in stuttering and Parkinson’s disease [Abstract]. American Speech Hearing Association Convention Program, Session #1567.

Smits-Bandstra, S., Gracco, V. (2009). Implicit sequence learning in persons who stutter and persons with Parkinson’s disease: An evoked response potential study [Abstract]. NeuroImage, 47 (Suppl. 1), S120.

Smits-Bandstra, S. Gracco, V., & De Nil, L.F. (2009). Comparing speech skill learning in stuttering and Parkinson’s disease [Abstract]. Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Conference Program.

Smits-Bandstra, S., Gracco, V., & De Nil, L.F. (2008). Comparing speech skill learning in stuttering and Parkinson’s disease [Abstract]. American Speech Hearing Association Convention Program, Session # 1567.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2005). Motor learning and automaticity in persons who stutter [Abstract]. American Speech Hearing Association Convention Program, Session # 0938.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2005). Decreased automaticity: A possible causal variable of relapse in persons who stutter [Abstract]. Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Convention Program.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2004). Motor sequence learning in adults who stutter [Abstract]. American Speech Hearing Association Convention Program, Session # 0525.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2004). Rethinking severity measurement in stuttering [Abstract]. Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Convention Program.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2003). Motor learning impairment: A possible cause of stuttering [Abstract]. Proceedings of the Fourth World Congress on Fluency Disorders, 45.

Smits-Bandstra, S., & De Nil, L. F. (2003). Motor learning of speech and non-speech tasks in persons who stutter [Abstract]. Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Convention Program.