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From: Lynne Shields
Date: 22 Oct 2004
Time: 20:56:49 -0500
Remote Name: 68.90.67.16
Katie, Stuttering is most prevalent in preschool-age children. Due to spontaneous remission, the percentage drops from about 5% to somewhere around 1% through childhood, so that there are something less than 1% of adults who stutter. The numbers vary depending on the source you check. It is difficult to get an accurate count, since all people who stutter do not seek treatment. You asked how we picked the location for our workshop. Susan Short was the first person in our area who wanted to do one of these workshops in her home area, near St. Louis. Lee Caggiano may have talked her into it, but you'll have to ask Susan about that! Susan contacted me, as another St. Louis area person, to help out on the local level. So, you could start one of these in your own community, enlisting people in your area, as well as others from outside your community. You can contact Lee Caggiano of FRIENDS to ask how to organize a FRIENDS event in your area. Your final question was about voluntary stuttering. This is a wonderful technique that can be helpful to people who stutter in a number of ways. For example, voluntary stuttering can help desensitize a person to stuttering, so that they will be less worried about stuttering happening to them. This is one very positive effect that it can have. I think that you can find more information about voluntary stuttering and its beneficial uses in therapy if you read a good textbook about stuttering therapy. You may also be able to find some resources at the Stuttering Homepage. Thanks for reading our paper. Best regards, Lynne