During 1996 the National Stuttering Project organized a series of ten highly successful "Year of the Child Who Stutters" symposiums, educating over 600 participants across the country. This program was made possible by a grant from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Consumer Affairs Division. Workshops fostered relationships between children and teens who stutter and their parents and speech-language professionals. Recognized experts in the field shared up-to-date information about diagnosis, intervention, treatment, community resources and the latest and most effective speech therapy techniques. Participants were able to be part of group sessions where individuals could share their common experiences and feelings and have their questions answered. As part of the grant, the National Stuttering Project agreed to compile a handbook describing how to organize a workshop so that these efforts could be duplicated by other consumer and professional organizations in the future.

This handbook is a practical guide to organizing a local or regional workshop. It gives the reader information about planning and putting on your own workshop, conducting outreach, developing a budget and an agenda, securing speakers and preparing media releases. Sample forms, resources and materials for distribution at the workshop as well as suggested age-appropriate activities for children and teens are also included.

There were lots of people who contributed to putting this handbook together. It is filled with suggestions and ideas in how you too can put on a successful workshop or conference. Good luck in your efforts and we hope you find the information in the following pages helpful.