Meet me on my US trip

I will be in the US from April 11th to April30th.

Meet me in New York, Tucson, or San Diego area! I am always happy to meet readers, especially if they stutter! ;-)

Contact me via email! My gmail address is tom DOT weidig!

Discuss with me at AIS in NY on April 17th

Come to the American Institute for Stuttering on Thursday April 17th from 6-7:30pm in New York. They invited me to talk about research in stuttering. There will probably be a round table discussion on the latest understanding, what the future might hold, and how it could impact treatment!

Stuttering: a short animation film

Check out Bertrand and Timmy's animation film about stuttering. I met them at the Antwerp stuttering conference.

Let me know what you think, and help the creators with your feedback!

Friday key note speakers at Antwerp ECSF Conference

I am sitting here in the entrance hall close to the reception desk of the Antwerp Conference.

Here is my report on the three Friday key note speakers:

The first keynote speaker was Ann Packmann. Her speech was about Exploring the relationship between treatment and causal theory in stuttering. She also presented her model of the moment of stuttering, developed by herself and Attanasio. She started out with talking about how one needs to find the cause for a heart issue and back pain before treating it. Unfortunately, that was not a good example, because many people now recognize the biopsychosocial aspects of these issues. Back pain and heart issue can certainly come from or be modulated by psychosocial causes, and treating the physical cause might not be enough. he then talks about  verbal communication & complexity theory. She correctly says that speaking is the most complex thing humans do and which sets them apart from other primates. She goes into complexity theory

Guest Blogger Richard Harkness: Stuttering's Primary Paradox and How it Tricks Us

Here is a guest post by Richard Harkness. If you want to be a guest blogger, please contact me.

Stuttering's Primary Paradox and How it Tricks Us (Richard Harkness) 

Some readers might remember me from workshops I've presented on the brain basis of stuttering and neuropatterning at National Stuttering Association (NSA) conventions in San Diego, Denver, Buffalo, and Atlanta. My most recent project was completing the new neuropatterning Home Course [http://neuropatterningforstutterers.com].

What I call the primary paradox, more than any other aspect of stuttering, accounts for the tremendous confusion that has always surrounded this perplexing disorder. It's easy to fall into this pothole.

The paradox is this: If PWS (Persons Who Stutter) can be fluent in some situations, why can't they be fluent in all situations? That is, why can most PWS speak fluently when speaking alone or to a pet--but stutter when aware of a human listener? And why can most PWS speak fluently when chorus reading (reading aloud in unison with someone else)? What could explain this except some kind of emotional or psychological issue? (This seeming paradox can be explained neurologically-by the excitation feedback component of stuttering-as discussed in The Two Components of Stuttering [http://neuropatterningforstutterers.com/?page_id=1056].

Arya Kumar Sinha believes that stuttering is totally curable.

Arya Kumar Sinha wrote to me that stuttering is curable. Read his email to me. I am not sure about his "By the laws of physics .Many-worlds interpretation , which successfully explained , loopholes of quantum physics , and today Dr. Stephen Hawking is a great supporter of this theory."

Hi Tom , I am Arya Kumar Sinha. I would like to contradict the view that is propagated in your web-site like stammering is not curable. My view is that : stammering is totally curable. I will place good arguments in favor of it. I am from India. At one point , I used to stammer severely with block/repeat on "A" "E" "I" "M" O" "U" "P" "D" "R" "L". From there , today i have achieved total fluency. I can speak fast like any normal speaker , without a single block on any letter. Why stammering is curable : The argument is : 1) Consider flipping of coin . P(head) = P(tail) =1/2. Similarly if we assume 2 states of stammering , then P(cure)=P(non-cure)= 1/2. So I rule out your 1st argument that stammering is not curable, by showing that there is equal possibility of both the cure/non-cure states. Its perfectly up to you to choose one. Both of these states exist in nature. 2) A computer i.e the logical processing area of a computer is composed of 3 parts. 1) Software 2) Operating system 3) Hardware. A programming error/bug appears if there is malfunction/error in the software part or OS or hardware. If in case of stammering there was a hardware error . then the individual would face it , while singing or while talking to himself. But in such cases a stammerer finds himself totally fluent thereby signalling that there is

100% guarantee that Anna Deeter does NOT make you stutter-free in 3 days!!

A TSB reader sent me the following email. If you have been in contact with her, contact the authorities!

You might be interested to take a look at Carl Herder's FB posting on Anna Deeter, an unlicensed speech therapist in California who's offering speech therapy in the guise of "training". Not only that, but a "I offer 100% success guarantee that at the end of the 3-day STUDY COURSE they will be stutter-free!! 

Carl is urging people to let the California licensing authorities know of her illegal activities.

Her program costs only $8000.

I suggest to Anna Deeter that she should charge the $8000 only after the person is cured. I am sure if she offers a 100% success guarantee, she is willing to wait for three days for the $8000! I would be very happy to give her the money for a cure!!!!

IFA Conference: July 6th-8th 2015

Here some information about the next IFA conference:

IFA’s 8th World Congress will be held at Catholic University in Lisbon, Portugal, where Jaqueline Carmona and Goncalo Leal are looking forward to serving as co-convenors. IFA’s Meetings and Conferences Committee received an array of excellent bids from Argentina, Australia, India, Portugal and USA. After careful consideration, the event was awarded to the bidding team from Portugal because their bid is the most advantageous for IFA and is responsive to the feedback received from IFA’s membership. Consistent with that feedback, holding the conference in Portugal will facilitate considerably more affordable congress registration fees. The 2015 IFA World Congress will be an exciting collaboration between IFA, ICA, and the Portuguese team, and will address stuttering, cluttering and other fluency disorders within its remit. This congress will also invite participation from the stuttering community, and will encourage collaboration between professionals and people with fluency disorders. More details regarding the 2015 congress will be published early in 2014, so watch www.theifa.org for more information!

Antwerp Stuttering Conference March 28th & 29th 2014

Check out the Antwerp Stuttering Conference on March 28th & 29th 2014: here.

I will be giving a workshop on how stuttering fits into a biopsychosocial framework. You find the 2012 version here.

I hope to see you there!

Let's meet up in New York, Tucson, or San Diego!

I will be in

New York (April 11th-18th),

Tucson/Arizona (April 18th-27th), and 

San Diego/California (April 27th-29th)!

If you live around there and want to meet up, send me an email tom . weidig @ gmail . com !!

Happy New Year to all of you!

I have not been very busy with my blog lately. I mainly posted links to events, and did not do a deeper analysis. Let's hope I have more time this year. Facebook has been taking up most of my time, and Luxembourgish politics. It's fun to see how that all works, but that phase of exploration is finite.

I am currently working on my book on the biopsychosocial model, and also in relationship to understanding stuttering better: check out the link.

Who can organise a cheap IFA congress?

IFA has sent around this email to its members seeking candidates for organizing the IFA congress 2015. I very much appreciate that IFA is seeking to organize a cheap conference where many different parties can participate, even those from less wealthy nations and those who are self-paying.

IFA’s Meetings and Conferences Committee has been working on a proposal for the 2015 World Congress to be held in Canada. However, we have been unable to contain costs to the extent that was requested by IFA members in the feedback received from the 2012 IFA survey.

Therefore, we are expanding our options with 21 months available for planning. We have received an expression of interest from a southern European country. For the sake of openness and inclusiveness, however, we would like to hear from any other groups that might be willing to host the 2015 IFA World Congress. Others who hosted the IFA’s World Congress have reported that it is a wonderful way to contribute to the mission of IFA and to “show off” your part of the world while gaining international attention.

Minimum requirements are:
·         Conference facilities for 250-300 delegates
·         Large main conference room plus two rooms for parallel sessions/posters
·         Good connection to international airport
·         Affordable/modestly priced accommodations nearby

To facilitate timely communication, please contact any member of the committee with your preliminary questions as soon as possible. We will need to receive your completed proposal by November 15, 2013.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this request that promises to result in an exciting 2015 IFA World Congress.

Kind regards,
Hilda Sønsterud, on behalf of the IFA Meetings and Conferences Committee

What happened to this study?

Is anyone aware of the outcome of the dopamine study apparently completed in 2010 in the US: see here.

Senna herb gives fluency?

Blog readers often approach me to share their fluency "wonders". I cannot take away their experience, and believe that they indeed have had significant fluency gains. I can only disagree with their interpretation. I find that their stories follow a similar pattern: A takes X for Y. Suddenly, A experiences much greater fluency and is amazed that he/she can speak so fluently. Interestingly, they do not report 100% fluency but only a significant reduction of fluency. This pattern suggest to me that an underlying neurological issue is still present but that a change in brain chemicals (including being more relaxed or depressed) significantly influence fluency. I also want to warn you that I cannot check their stories or check their backgrounds. They could of course just try to manipulate me in promoting the substance because they have commercial interests in it. Anyway, here is the story:

About 6 months ago I had stomach issues so someone suggested to try senna herb it's known as a laxative for the stomach to make your bowl move after drinking the tea. So I bought the leaves from the Internet and started making it into a tea I started with not alot about 5 grams and 200 ml of water boil it for 5 min and drink it.. After 2 weeks or so I noticed a strange thing I started stuttering and blocking less.. M
aybe it was just a placebo effect. But continue using it the stuttering was i would say improved by 90% I would talk to people and not stutter, I would phone people and not stutter. I would have the occasional here and there but all in all it's such a big improvement.. Now the science part the stuff that makes u have diarrhea is senneniods in the senna herb that is what scientist have discovered. I am pretty sure it's not that that makes u stutter less. If scientists can remove the sennionds from the herb. I am sure there is something in this herb that doesn't make you stutter, if u cut down in it u will stutter again I tried leaving the herbs for 2 weeks and the stutter came right back. I hope someone can do research about this wonderful herb surely smth in it a chemical helps stuttering, I have given it to a friend who stutters as well after a while his stuttering was improved by 80%. Thanks thus was my experience with senna herb

Portuguese Stuttering Association: National Conference

On the 26th October, the Portuguese Stuttering Association will organize its VII Stuttering NAtional Conference. The program will be the following: 9:30- Opening session I and my stutter: life testimonies of people who stutter Speakers: Paulo Guerra, José Pedrosa, Tiago Almeida, Carlos Ferreira. Stuttering and employability Speakers: Maria Amélia Marques, André Carmo, Joana Caldas Success in therapy: What does it mean? Speakers: Iris Bonança, Brito Largo, Jaqueline Carmona, Gonçalo Leal, Mónica Rocha Rapporteur: Helena Germano SHGs and the online forum: The experience in Portugal Speakers: Rosa Paula Neves, José Carlos Domingues, Joana Caldas, André Caiado, Jorge Silva Commentators: Daniel Neves da Costa, Brito Largo 18:00- Closing session Registrations: members, relatives and students: 10 €, Professionals: 20 € Information and registrations on www.gaguez-apg.com

Please help researchers in Boston

Please contact Shanqing Cai (scai@bu.edu) to participate in a scientific study on the Rhythm Effect in Stuttering. It is very important that we help others:

The Speech Laboratory of Boston University is looking for volunteers who stutter to participate in an NIH-funded research on persistent developmental stuttering. Persistent developmental stuttering is a disorder of speech fluency characterized by frequency involuntary disruption of the normal flow of speech by syllable or sound repetitions, prolongations and blockages. It usually starts during early speech development between the age of 2 and 6 and persists into adulthood. This study focuses on the rhythm effect, also known as the metronome effect, which refers to the dramatic decrease in dysfluency when a person who stutters speaks to a regular rhythm. By using a combination of psychophysical and MRI techniques, we aim to elucidate the neural basis of this potent fluency enhancing effect in stuttering, which may also provide further insight into the basis of this disorder.

A letter from Africa

I received a letter from Dieudonn Nsabimana about an initiative on stuttering:

Background: Africa has a population of approximately 10 million people who stutter. Using the universally accepted incidence of stuttering What is the issue or challenge? Still now, People in Africa are not sufficiently informed about stuttering. Because of this lack of information, people who stutter are still mocked and humiliated. For now, almost all resources on stuttering are in internet in English language but 92% Africans people do not have access on internet And still now, there is also little information about any appropriate treatment for stuttering and almost, people who stutter in Africa, do not have access on stuttering therapy How we will solve those problems? AFRICA STUTTERING RESEARCH CENTRE have launch and have objective to promote research, to train Africans Speech & Language Therapists and to educate on stuttering in Africa About research, for moment a study on stuttering treatment from African Traditional Healers will be launched soon and a study of challenge and strategies on Telepractice in africa will be launched About stuttering treatments, Currently, Telepractice is only the therapy method that can be accessed by people who stutter in Africa. Call for applications Volunteer Speech & Language Therapists have launched and nine Therapists from America state have accepted to give stuttering therapy the PWS in Africa, first group will be treated stuttering, in this month of October About educate on stuttering issues in Africa, we have a project for translating, multiplication and distribution the many resources exist on stuttering For now we would like to translating, multiplication and distribution the fee books and brochures for America stuttering foundation The books and brochures will be translated in Swahili language. Swahili is most widely spoken African language. Swahili is spoken in 11 Africa countries and more than 120 million speakers. That makes Swahili the largest African language. Soon as possible we will be launched a fundraising campaign for raising money for translating, multiplication and distribution the books and brochures on stuttering in Swahili language, in 11 Africa countries What you can do for us: -You can interest Speech & Language Therapists in your community to be involved in research and stuttering treatment in Africa -When we launching our fundraising campaign, we would like that you can interest your community to be involved .fundraising campaign will be online fundraising on website Your contribution can help achieve a solution and I will be really appreciated all your great advice All the best, Dieudonne Nsabimana Kigali-RWANDA

Invitation to Second World Conference on Cluttering in Eindhoven

If you are interested in cluttering, Yvonne van Zaalen is inviting to the second world conference:

You receive this email because of your interest in fluency disorders. In 2014 the second World Conference on Cluttering will be organized by the International Cluttering Association (ICA). Let us all put the intriguing disorder of cluttering and cluttering-stuttering on the map. A good step in doing so is to forward this email to other Speech Language Pathologists that might be interested to learn more about cluttering. If you receive this message more than ones, that means that colleagues around the world are familiar with your interest in fluency disorders, especially cluttering. I hope you will take that as a compliment.

Yvonne van ZaalenChair of the ICA (ica2thworldconference@gmail.com)

Breast feeding may protect against stuttering???

Today, every single "science" news outlet jumped on the story that breastfeeding may protect against persistent stuttering: see a Science Daily post based on direct sources.

This is a hyped-up science story. Typically, a student does a study of ridiculously low sample size using a questionnaire asking about 100 questions. Then magically a strong correlation comes up. The PR department of the university gets to know about it, and off we go with a press release. If they are lucky, it's also a female student, so they can at the same time satisfy politically correctness and show that girls do great science!

The truth is of course that 95% of this kind of research is completely irrelevant, for various reasons. The biggest one is that the more variables you look for, the more likely one is correlated by chance. And even if you only look for a few variables. Ten students looking for few variables has the same effect combined with the publication bias. Only the one of the ten students finds a strong correlation by chance, and only their research gets paraded around.

And of course nutrients play a great role in giving the infant brain and its DNA the needed resources to create the best possible brain from what the DNA has in store. 100s of things can get wrong in an infant's brain development. But this story just does not make sense to me even on a theoretical level.

Here some sanity checks:

1) If this is really the case and as more girls recover, are we now suppose to believe that boys gets less breastfeeding. Of course not. So why do more girls recover if breast feeding is a key factor?

2) Millions of kids did not get breastfed, do they stutter? No! Do have they neurological deficits?? Not that I am aware of.

To conclude, the research is likely irrelevant, and its marketing damaging, and in my view unethical. Nicoline Ambrose who is known for sound research should have known better. At best, I accuse her of being naive about the media and not having reigned in the PR department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for over-blowing this piece of research. Now, millions read this and are misled! :-(

Controversial honoring of Theo Schoenaker at the ISA-congress 2013

Robert van de Vorst wrote to TheStutteringBrain to make us aware of the controversial honoring of Theo Schoenaker who holds views that clash with science. Make up your own mind!

Controversial honoring of Theo Schoenaker at the ISA-congress 2013: Stuttering a neurosis?

By Robert van de Vorst

Recently, on the 10th of June in Lunteren, Theo Schoenaker has been honored for his pioneering work in the field of stuttering (see here). For those unknown with his work, Ton and Theo Schoenaker were the first to offer group-therapy for adult people who stutter in the sixties, under the name ‘Doetinchemse Methode’ (1966-2001). In 1974, Schoenaker emigrated to Germany where he became profoundly influenced by the Individual Psychology developed by Alfred Adler.

In short, based on a psycho-analytical approach, Schoenaker believes that (all) stuttering is a psycho-somatic disorder, a neurosis. He seems thereby to contradict evidence of stuttering as a neurobiological developmental disorder, including subtypes and genetic predispositions.