Welcome to the fourth International Online Conference on Stuttering, chaired by Judith Kuster, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Online conferences have been an integral part of International Stuttering Awareness Day which began in 1998. ISAD is organized by Michael Sugarman, Oakland, California, and recognizes the growing alliance between speech-language professionals and consumers, who are learning from each other and working together to share, give support, and educate one another and the general public on the impact that stuttering has on individuals' lives.

This year's conference focuses on general issues about stuttering. It is designed for people who stutter, their families and employers, the professionals who work with them, students in training and their instructors. Thank you for your participation. Your comments about the conference are also welcome.

Beginning October 1 there are 3 panels, 26 invited papers and 5 poster sessions of research updates linked below for you to read at your leisure. There is also a section - "The Professor is In" - where you can ask questions of several professionals. The contributions in this conference reflect professional and consumer interests about stuttering and are presented by nealy 65 individuals representing 16 different countries on 6 different continents. Each paper also has a threaded discussion page for your comments and questions. By October 22, 2001, International Stuttering Awareness Day, the authors of the papers will respond as they wish. Feel free to post your questions/comments at any time and check back on International Stuttering Awareness Day for any response from the author. Contributors to the conference are solely responsible for the information they provide. The conference organizer and Minnesota State University cannot be responsible for nor can we attest to the accuracy or efficacy of the information others provide. The authors' papers will be permanently archived on the Stuttering Home Page for you to read at any time. (http://www.stutteringhomepage.com).

Instructions - please read! The papers are linked to the button in the square to the left. After you have opened the paper, the box around the button will turn green to remind you that you've already opened that paper. The questions/comments page may be accessed at the top or bottom of each paper. Please read the instructions on how to post questions at the top of each of the question/comments pages.

Remember that there are many people writing and attending this conference for whom English is not their first language. The Google Translation Service may help those who don't read English well to understand some of these papers. It will not be a perfect translation, but you should be able to get the idea.

Please ask questions that are relevant to the papers and refrain from developing a personal topic. It is expected that participants will remain cordial. The coordinator of the conference retains the right to delete posts considered inappropriate.

Other ISAD Activities: Here are some announcements of other activities surrounding ISAD 2001.

Several university professors have agreed to serve as a panel to answer appropriately-posed questions about stuttering. This is primarily designed for parents and people who stutter to learn from the "experts," and is not for lengthy discussion or for students assigned to "post something to the online conference."

Office Hours: The Professor Is In, featuring Steve Hood, Deborah Kully, Judy Kuster, Bob Quesal, Ken St. Louis, Nan Ratner, C. Woody Starkweather, Dale Williams, and Scott Yaruss.

Pushing the Envelope: Densensitization Experiences, featuring Mike Hughes (Canada), Robb Murray (Minnesota, USA), Eric Hayes Patkowski (Texas, USA), and Bonnie Weiss (New York, USA) -Discussion-

ISAD2000: Some Success Stories by Warren Brown (New Zealand), Claudia Diaz (Argentina), Martine De Vloed (Belgium), Stefan Hoffmann (China), Olivier Humez (France), Ruth Ezrati-Vinacour (Israel), Moonja Shin (Korea) -Discussion-

Shady Trailers, Hats Off To Thee by Russ Hicks (Texas, USA) and Bernie Weiner (Michigan, USA) -Discussion-

My Words Have Wings - Finally! by James Abbott, Jr. (Michigan, USA) -Discussion-

Acquired Stuttering by Henny Bijleveld (Belgium) -Discussion-

Recovery from stuttering means creating a new internal order by Stefan Bogdanov (Switzerland) -Discussion-

Using the Telephone and Coping With Stuttering by Shelagh Brumfitt and Sarah James(United Kingdom) -Discussion-

Stuttering in Literary Arts by Amparo Cabrera (Spain) -Discussion-

Stuttering Therapy: Clinic vs. Real World by Bobby Childers (New Mexico, USA) -Discussion-

An Analysis Of A Stutterer's Family Tree by James Clarkson (Australia) -Discussion-

Stuttering Therapy for Children by Donna Cooperman and Charleen Bloom (New York, USA) -Discussion-

Employment and stammering — the work begins: Providing practical advice for creating a better working environment by Andrew Harding (United Kingdom) -Discussion-

A Model for Manipulating Linguistic Complexity in Stuttering Therapy by E. Charles Healey (Nebraska, USA), Lisa Scott Trautman (Kansas, USA), and James Panico (Nebraska, USA) -Discussion-

La Petite Mort: Dissociation and the Subjective Experience of Stuttering by Louise B. Heite (Alaska, USA/Iceland) -Discussion-

The Chicken and the Alligators - or - How to Facilitate a Support Group Meeting by Russ Hicks (Texas, USA) -Discussion-

"I've Got a Secret — And It's Scaring Me to Death! (The Story of a Covert Stutterer)" by Steve Hood (Alabama, USA) and Chris Roach (Texas, USA). -Discussion-

Word-Final Dysfluencies: Ten Infrequently Asked Questions by Brian Humphrey (Florida, USA) and John Van Borsel (Belgium) -Discussion-

Directed Self-Help Stuttering Therapy With A Motivated Teenage Boy, Predominantly By Email by Gerald Johnson and Eric (Wisconsin, USA) -Discussion-

Narrative As A Research Tool: Application Research In Stuttering by Harsha Kathard (South Africa) -Discussion-

The 25% Improvement by Tom Klassen (Toronto, Canada) -Discussion-

A Story Is Worth A Thousand Pictures: Your Story Can And Should Be Told, by Judith Kuster (Minnesota, USA), Kenneth St. Louis (West Virginia, USA) and Rae Jean Sielen (West Virginia, USA) -Discussion-

Several bulletin boards are provided where people who stutter are invited to submit brief stories.

Helping Children Deal with Teasing and Bullying by Marilyn Langevin (Canada) -Discussion-

International Stuttering Association by Jaan Pill (Canada), Benny Ravid (Israel), Stefan Hoffmann (China), Mark Irwin (Australia), Martine De Vloed (Belgium), Thomas Krall (Germany) and Mel Hoffman (California, USA) This paper is also available In Hebrew. -Discussion-

Knowledge And Attitudes Of Students From Two Universities In The Western Cape Towards Stutterng by Catherine Power (South Africa) -Discussion-

Stuttering in the Chinese population in some South-East Asian countries: A Preliminary investigation on attitude and Incidence by Sheree Reese (New Jersey, USA) and Joseph Jordania (Australia) -Discussion-

The Death of Fluency Disorders. by Bob Quesal (Illinois, USA) -Discussion-

Consumer Alert: Stuttering and Gender Research by Ellen-Marie Silverman (Wisconsin, USA). -Discussion-

Below the Surface: Treating the Emotional Aspects of Stuttering by C. Woody Starkweather (Pennsylvania, USA) -Discussion-

A Search for Fluency That Ended With Acceptance by Craig Stephenson (Idaho, USA) -Discussion-

Finding your own way: A teenager's self-realization of stuttering through a personal journal by John Tetnowski and M. (Louisiana, USA) -Discussion-

Free Open Consultation On Stuttering: An Integrating Group Experience by Beatriz Biain de Touzet (Argentina) This paper is also available in Spanish -Discussion-

Accepting a Gift — the Gift of Acceptance by Dirk Vannetelbosch, (Belgium) -Discussion-

Life Lessons: Putting Stuttering into Perspective by Candace Webster (Michigan, USA) -Discussion-

The National Stuttering Association (NSA) Research Committee by J. Scott Yaruss, (chair, Pittsburgh, USA), Anthony J. Caruso, Fred Lewis, Gerald Maguire, James A. McClure, Lawrence F. Molt, Robert W. Quesal, and Lee Reeves -Discussion-

webweaver Judith Kuster
last updated October 1, 2001