It was a National Stuttering Association conference to remember!

Scroll down to see photos with friends…

The people, the sun, the humidity, the stunning basketball court (and the inescapable iguanas!) made it a great conference!

We enjoyed the presentations, conversations, hallway conversations between sessions and time to socialize in beautiful Ft. Lauderdale, Florida!

The Research Symposium

The Research Symposium provided an opportunity to explore “identity” and “disability.”

• How is a communication “disorder” to be seen in the context of “disability”?

• How can we consider the “medical model” and the “social model” of disability in forward thinking?

• Who/what defines “normal”?

  • What defines “x” as normal? And how to relate to anything other than “x”?

• What are the “gains” woven into the challenging experience (of stuttering)?

  • Click here to read more about this, from Dr. Christopher Constantino

We were enlightened and sparked to think more, thanks to the presenters:

Judy Singer (Australia) author of “Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea”

Dr. Jeffrey Brune, Gallaudet University (USA) author of “Disability and Passing”

Dr. Joshua St. Pierre, University of Alberta (Canada)

Dr. Chris Constantino, Florida State University (USA) - The Stuttering Gain

Many thanks to Co-Chairs, our friends and colleagues, Vivian Sisskin and Chris Constantino. Their intellectual brilliance is coupled with equally exceptional stewardship, cultivating and encouraging an inviting space for presenters and participants to “go-deeper” and consider multiple perspectives. (Not to mention the way they managed the 12hour power outage, where we sat in day long presentations and discussions, without air conditioning, no projection, no amplification. Thankfully, we had “light” and managed to “transcend” the logistical challenges. It was effortful to the point of dripping sweat, but the conversations were nourishing multiple times in return.)