Awards and Recognition


Anyone knowing of special awards or recognition of interest to the international community of people who stutter may submit information to kuster@mnsu.edu
Hugo Gregory
Barry Guitar
Russ Hicks
Allan Holzman
Judy Kuster
John Larkin
Harold Luper
Lee Reeves
Michael Sugarman and Herb Goldberg
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-10th) Ohio
Marty Jezer
Oliver Bloodstein receives 1999 Malcolm Fraser Award
International Fluency Association Awards of Distinction - 2000
Barry Guitar receives 2000 Malcolm Fraser Award
National Stuttering Association SLP of the Year awards

NSP member and 54 year old teenager pop star John Larkin ("Scatman John") was presented the Annie Glenn Award September 18th at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. Larkin's award carried with it a $3000 donation to the charity or institution of his choice. He received this award from the National Council on Communicative Disorders (NCCD), an umbrella organization consisting of 31 groups helping those with speech and hearing impairments. The council recognizes individuals who can serve as an inspiration to others who are deaf or have (or had) a speech, language, or hearing problem. [ From: Ira Zimmerman - posted to Stutt-l April 26, 1996 ]


Long time NSP member Dr. Lee Reeves Charles Van Riper Award for his extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the stuttering community. Reeves received this award from the National Council on Communicative Disorders (NCCD), an umbrella organization consisting of 31 groups helping those with speech and hearing impairments. The council recognizes individuals who can serve as an inspiration to others who are deaf or have (or had) a speech, language, or hearing problem. [ From: Ira Zimmerman - posted to Stutt-l April 26, 1996 ]
Barry Guitar, professor of communication sciences at the University of Vermont, an expert in the area of stuttering, was name "Vermont Professor of the Year," the highest honor given in each state by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. [ From ASHA Magazine, Spring 1996 }
Allan Holzman, has won an Emmy for Individual Achievement, Informational Programming. Holzman, a person who stutters, was the editor and director of the TBS documentary, Survivors of the Holocaust. which appeared on TBS and was a co-production of Turner Original Productions and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. Steven Spielberg is the Chairman of the Foundation. The program also won an Emmy in the category of Informational Special.

Allan was the supervising editor of another documentary The Native Americans: Behind the Legends. This documentary won the Governor's Award.

These awards were given out in the Creative Arts Categories of the Primetime Emmy Awards on Saturday night. Survivors of the Holocaust is also nominated for the President's Award that will be announced during the televised Emmy Award ceremony.

Holzman, a member of the National Stuttering Project, is a film director and film editor who happens to stutter. He first studied acting because he discovered that he didn't stutter when acting. He soon found that he preferred editing and directing, but to become a director he had to improve his communication skills. With the help of Vivian Sheehan, CCC-SLP, he learned how to stutter in an easy manner and his stuttering no longer interferes with his job.

reported on STUTT-L September 8, 1996, by Ira Zimmerman


Judith Kuster was awarded the Louis M. DiCarlo Award by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Foundation at the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association convention in Seattle, Washington, on November 22, 1996. The DiCarlo Award honors significant recent accomplishments in the advancement of clinical service in speech-language pathology and/or audiology. The recipient is chosen from among individuals nominated by state speech-language and hearing associations, and is presented annually. Kuster received the award for her work on the Internet, including Net Connections for Communication Disorders and Sciences, a home page that catalogs relevant information on the Internet for her discipline, and also the work she and John Harrison have done on the Stuttering Home Page.

reported in 1996 ASHA Convention Daily Award Supplement

(a word from Judy).


The prestigious Frank R. Kleffner Award, presented by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, recognizes an individual's exemplary contributions to clinical science and practice over a period of no less than 20 years. The late Harold L. Luper, professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, was honored posthumously, for 45 years of service as master teacher, clinician and scholar. Colleagues credit the University of Tennessee's growth and national prominence in clinical education to Luper. Development of speech and hearing centers in local hospitals, a renowned pediatric clinic, new clinical services areas, and outstanding contributions to the Stuttering Foundation of America are among his achievements.

reported in 1996 ASHA Convention Daily Award Supplement


Russ Hicks, a member of the Dallas, Texas, NSP, took first place in the Toastmasters Region 3 humorous speech contest in June. An article reporting his accomplishment, Stutterer has found a way with words appeared in the Dallas Morning News, December 27, 1996.
Hugo Gregory is the recipient of the first Malcolm Fraser Award. He received the award at the Stuttering Foundation of America's 50th Anniversary Dinner held in conjunction with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Special Interest Division's Fourth Annual Leadership Conference held this year in Tucson, Arizona at the Westward Look Resort, April 30 - May 3, 1997. (announced on Stutt-l, May 14, 1997, by Eugene Cooper)
U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was honored on September 9, 1998, at the 17th Annual National Council on Communicative Disorders (NCCD) Awards Ceremony being held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Kucinich stuttered as a child making it difficult to communicate. He was able to receive treatment for his stuttering and went on to become a renowned politician. By the age of 31, Kucinich became the major of Cleveland and the youngest person ever elected to mayor of a major American City. Over the next decade, Kucinich taught communications and politics at several local schools. In 1994, Kucinich returned to the political arena as an Ohio State Senator, where he became a leader on issues pertaining to health care, environment, labor, and utility issues. And in 1998, Kucinich came to Washington as a representative to congress from Ohio's 10th Congressional District.

In addition to winning an Emmy for his work as a political analyst for WJWA-TV 8, he was awarded the 1996 National Association of Social Workers Outstanding Senator of the Year award for his work on health and social welfare issues.

Kucinich was presented with the Charles Van Riper Award for serving as an inspiration to persons with communications disorders. Charles Van Riper was a renowned clinician and researcher in the area of stuttering. The Charles Van Riper Award is given to an individual who stutters, in recognition of their successful achievement of personal and professional goals. Susan Hagans, daughter fo the late Van Riper, presented the award to Kucinich. (posted on Stutt-L by Ira Zimmerman, September 1, 1998


From the LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Alumni News, September 1999

JEZER '61 NAMED "MEMBER OF THE YEAR"

In June, Marty Jezer '61 was named member of the year of the National Stuttering Project, the largest self-help group for people who stutter in the world. He has two regrets about his time at Lafayette, and neither of them is rappelling from the third floor of Watson Hall, a whim chronicled forever in the 1960 Melange. (college yearbook)

"I only wish I hadn't been so afraid to talk," Jezer says. "Those who remember me will recall that I never spoke up in class, even when I had something to say."

Jezer describes his struggle with stuttering in his autobiography, Stuttering: A Life Bound Up in Words (Basic Books, 1997). As he wrote in Stuttering, his other regret involves Sam Pascal, chair of the foreign languages department when Jezer attended Lafayette.

"Pascal had lost an arm, perhaps in World War II, and took an interest in my problem with stuttering," says Jezer. "Alas, stutterers in general, and me in particular, feel shame about our faulty speech and don't want to talk about it. Dr. Pascal reached out to me, and I rejected him."

Since then, Jezer has worked hard to overcome his fear of speaking out.

"I've gone from being afraid to speak in public to a keynote speaker and workshop panelist. I also do book readings," he says. "I still stutter, but I've become a good communicator."

Jezer, who studied history at Lafayette, is involved with a variety of social and environmental causes. His activism began on campus in a column he wrote for The Lafayette. "I railed against compulsory ROTC and championed the new movement for civil rights," he says. "I was a junior when the first student sit-ins happened, and I wrote a column about it. I felt then that the civil rights movement would change the world-and it has."

"I've since been involved in all kinds of battles for economic and racial justice, peace, and human rights," Jezer continues. "I've gone to jail five or six times in nonviolent demonstrations. I've got an FBI file of almost 100 pages, and they left the best stuff out."

Jezer was co captain of the Lafayette swim team and played intramural football. "One of my greatest memories is catching the winning pass against the Dekes, I think it was, for Watson Hall," he says.


IFA AWARDS - 3rd World Congress of IFA at Nyborg Denmark.

The International Fluency Association Awards of Distinction were presented at the 3rd World Congress of the IFA at Nyborg, Denmark in August 2000, in recognition of outstanding contributions to stuttering and fluency in the categories of Clinican, Consumer and Researcher.

In the Clinican category: Bill Murphy, teacher and clinician at Purdue University has provided creative problem-solving therapy programmes for children and adolescents who stutter for many years using a humanistic, common-sense approach. He has also worked extensively in helping clinicians and student clinicians develop their art for helping people who stutter. He is highly regarded by all who know him for this deep commitment to clients, students and clinicians alike, and as a highly creative clinician who gives endlessly of his time.

In the Consumer category: Michael Sugarman co-founded the National Stuttering Project in 1977 and served as Executive Director from 1978-1981 and from 1995-1997. His vision for self help/support groups was to empower persons who stutter with courage and dignity, and create a safe environment where persons who stutter could gather in a comfortable unthreathening environment. Among his contributions are the development of International Stuttering Awareness Day; the coordination of NSA's Year of the Child Symposium. Through his endevours, Michael has done much to narrow the gap between professionals and consumers in the field of stuttering.

In the Researcher category: Ehud Yairi, University of Illinois-Champagn USA and University of Tel Aviv, Israel, has been involved in research in fluency and stuttering over a 30 year period. During the past decade in particular, his research into the development of early disfluencies in children has been highly influential, enabling clinicians to better understand patterns of development and significant differences between normal non fluency and stuttering. The criteria he and his co-researchers have established are widely used in the differential diagnosis and decisions regarding the nature of the intervention offered at various stages.

Since the 3rd World Congress of the IFA coincides with its 10th birthday, IFA Pioneers - those who were either on the first IFA executive committee and those who had a very important role in shaping the IFA in its early years - were also honored.

The following people had important roles on the 1st executive committee:

others who received honors were:
Barry Guitar, "by virtue of his leadership in developing stuttering treatment, his extensive basic and applied research, and his dedication to improving treatment for people who stutter, received the year 2000 Malcolm Fraser Award.

This award, named after the founder of the Stuttering Foundation, is presented annually by SFA at the Fluency Division Leadership Conference. The award, which includes a $2000.00 stipend, recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community of people who stutter.

One of the letters of support noted that Guitar's career accomplishes a seamless joining together of clinical, research, and development of our profession. His leadership in clinical approaches and the importance of his research are interwoven with his impact on the development of our profession.

Barry Guitar has influenced many of us in the area of stuttering to view it in the context of the whole person. His respect for the honoring of the individuals with whom he works is evident in the statements expressed by colleagues and clients alike. This human ability to connect with others has provided an environment for the successful use of his research and clinical skills.

Just as important as the impressive quantity of his effort is the value of his integrity. He is open and eager to learn from others. He is knowledgeable and well informed in many disciplines and is able to relate the concerns of our profession to the needs of others.

His widely used book, Stuttering: An Integrated Approach to The Nature and Treatment, along with many Stuttering Foundation sponsored films have, as one write stated, "put a face on stuttering and stuttering therapy" for many students for the first time." (From the Stuttering Foundation newsletter, fall 2000).


The National Stuttering Association has recognized the following as Speech-Language Pathologists of the Year at the annual conventions:
last updated August 1, 2001