About the presenter: Sami Awad Yasin, Ph.D. from Khartoum, Sudan, Africa, is a clinical psychologist and a member of the Sudanese Psychological Society.and the International Fluency Association (IFA). He is a Staff Counselor at the Staff Counseling and Welfare Section, U N MISSION, and also the Founder & Director of the Sudanese Stuttering Organization (SUDASO). Emails: samiyasin2@yahoo.com or yassins@un.org and Telephone (cell): 00249 9121 45915 | |
Sudan is an Arab-African country, with population nearly about 35 millions, Khartoum is the capital of Sudan where Blue and White Niles meet, Islam and Christianity are the main religions in Sudan.
A group of psychologists lead by the researcher established the Sudanese Stuttering Organization (SUDASO) in August 2005, Aiming at:
A survey was conducted in July 2005 of 65 primary schools in Khartoum state. The results are provided on the tables below.
FIRST: The results obtained from schools and families questionnaires:
(a) Teachers & Students who stutter:
(b) Families of the Stuttered Children:
1. There is a strong need for a specialized center to PWS and cadres working with them with the new and advanced methods of stuttering therapy.
2. There is a strong need to raise the awareness of school teachers about stuttering and how to provide help.
3. More studies in large scales to cover all educational and society levels about stuttering and its impact on PWS.
4. Specialized and advanced training courses for clinicians about stuttering and its treatment.
After conducting a the preliminary research in Khartoum primary schools, the researcher designed an intervention program containing mainly the following:
The program implementation is preceded and followed by stuttering severity measurement and parents' reactions questionnaire.
The program started on the first week of August 2006, and it will take about 2 months duration for each group (the group usually contains about 10-15 participants - PWSs and their families, simultaneously but separately).
Reference:
William D. Parry: Understanding and Controlling Stuttering, Distributed in Cooperation with the National Stuttering Association, 2nd Edition (updated 2002), Aneheim Hills, California.
* Valsalva Mechanism as he defines it: is a neurologically coordinated combination of muscles in the larynx, mouth, chest, and abdomen. It's normal function is to assist us in exerting strenuous physical effort or in forcing things out of the body (as in defecation), however if we mistakenly activate the valsalva mechanism during our effort to speak, I believe it may cause a forceful blockage of airflow or an interference with phonation - two of the basic, underlying elements of stuttering.
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