Seek a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist When Looking for Help With Stuttering, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Says

Seek a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist When Looking for Help With Stuttering, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Says

Call Follows Story About a Person With a Stutter By NBC Network Show Three Wishes

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Noting that stuttering is responsive to treatment by qualified professionals and has to be managed throughout a person's life, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) urges the public to seek a certified professional speech-language pathologist when trying to find help for the disorder.

Stuttering affects approximately 3 million Americans. ASHA, a national professional and scientific organization that has more than 100,000 speech- language pathologists among its members, provides information and referrals (for leads to qualified professionals visit http://www.asha.org/findpro/ ).

"We have an obligation to responsibly inform and educate the public," according to ASHA President Dolores E. Battle, Ph.D. "In this case, that means helping individuals understand that stuttering is responsive to treatment but lacks a cure."

"Management of stuttering needs to include periodic monitoring and evaluations by speech-language pathologists who are knowledgeable about fluency."

On October 21, the NBC show Three Wishes aired a segment about a young man who stutters. He seemed much improved nearly immediately after a device was placed in his ear that introduced a miniscule delay in auditory feedback of his speech.

ASHA encourages individuals who are interested in making an informed decision about such devices to consult with a certified speech-language pathologist.

"Many people who stutter adapt to the intervention and stuttering returns," Battle notes. "We want the public to understand that there is no quick fix for stuttering. In order to be successful, therapies need to be designed to meet individual needs."

ASHA is the national professional and scientific association for more than 120,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing, and treating hearing disorders, including fitting hearing aids and other assistive listening devices. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. For more information on ASHA or speech, language, and hearing disorders, call 800-638-8255 or visit http://www.asha.org/.

Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

CONTACT: Doug Plesh of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association,
+1-301-897-7349, or dplesh@asha.org

Web site: http://www.asha.org/

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