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From: Alan B (to Maggie)
Date: 22 Oct 2010
Time: 15:16:06 -0500
Remote Name: 95.144.71.188
Hi Maggie, Thank you for your generous response to my paper. Maybe I should begin by providing a brief outline of how it all started. Whilst attending a stuttering event in the US (in 2000), I met several SLPs. One of them (an Assistant Professor in Fluency Disorders at an American university) invited a group of PWS (who were also present) to correspond (by email) with some of her SLP graduate students. I willingly accepted the offer and subsequently entered into lengthy exchanges with a member of her class – answering questions and sharing my lifetime experiences of stuttering. I later learned that none of the other PWS apparently honoured their commitment to communicate in a similar manner. Six months later, totally out-of-the-blue, I received a telephone call asking me if I was interested in visiting the university for a few days to address several classes. As an added bonus, the students apparently agreed to divert a sum of money from one of their funds to pay for my air flight. I was thrilled and honoured. The visit was a huge success and my talks were video-recorded for future training purposes. The first seeds had been sowed. :-) During the past 10 years, I have been very active within the international stuttering community. I have contributed many hundreds of posts to online forums, as well as attending stuttering events on three different continents. As a result, I have made numerous acquaintances within the field of speech-pathology, several of whom are responsible for preparing future SLPs. This, in turn, has led to further opportunities for me to visit US universities. Fortunately, I was able to arrange some of my talks to coincide with other stuttering-related transatlantic trips. On other occasions, I have addressed groups of students via telephone (landline) or Skype. Generally, my presentation to universities extends to about an hour, during which I respond to many enthusiastic questions. My talks to community organisations in the UK commenced in 2002 when I was invited to share my experiences with a professional/business group. Someone heard me being interviewed on BBC radio (about stuttering) and considered that the content would be of interest to his fellow members. The rest is history, as they say. :-) I have since undertaken an extensive programme of talks to several hundred community organisations in an attempt to create a greater awareness about stuttering. Despite having been on the public speaking circuit for the past 8 years, I am still inundated with invitations to speak. There really is an insatiable demand for speakers, together with a hugely active grapevine which ensures that (if audiences enjoy your talk) your name is passed from organisation to organisation. My talk is of one hour’s duration and entitled ‘Lost for Words’. Returning to the questions that you posed, I would be delighted to share my story with students at ISU, if it could possibly be arranged. I will be in touch by private email within the next few days. Maggie, I wish you every success with your studies and in your future career as a speech-language pathologist. Kindest regards Alan