NSA Makes History with 180 in Attendance at USF for CEU!

Along with the first NSA Youth Day in Florida!

Tampa, Florida was treated to two special events on January 16 and 17, co-sponsored by the NSA and the University of South Florida’s National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter.

Children and their families attended Tampa’s first Youth Day for Kids who Stutter. Though many of the kids and parents were local, some came from as far away as Ohio and Connecticut. Members of NSA’s Tampa Chapter opened the day with a skit entitled, “The Incredible Stutter”, written by Michael Paleaz. Mike’s story used the Incredible Hulk as an analogy, to convey the frustration he feels when he stutters. In contrast, Kenny Butler (NSA Southeast Regional Coordinator) and Tim Gates played superheros who use their stuttering as a special, positive gift. Jason Raines (USF Student) played a fluent person who wanted to learn how to stutter, so that he could become a “cool stuttering superhero” too. Delroy McPherson capped the skit as “Professor S”, the wise man who trains superheroes to use their stuttering powers positively.

Next, USF NSSLHA volunteers (all undergraduate CSD majors) led morning workshops alongside Nina Reeves, Nathan Maxfield, and Cathy Castellano (USF Clinical Instructor). Lisa Murphy (USF NSSLHA) and Nina counseled parents. Lauren Papke and Mary Beth McAfee (USF NSSLHA), alongside Ms. Castellano, led a large group of school-age kids who stutter through structured self-help activities (culminating in some unstructured fun on the playground). Hannah Harold and Kati Friedman (USF NSSLHA), and members of the NSA Tampa chapter, facilitated a teen group. After lunch, Alexis Maxfield (SLP from Hope Preparatory Academy, Tampa) presented a workshop on what the hummingbird can teach kids and parents about coping with bullying/teasing. Finally, Matt Provenzano (NSA Tampa member) read from a manuscript he’s written about his experience as a person who stutters, while a panel of adults who stutter (NSA Tampa members) answered questions from the audience.

On January 16th, Nina Reeves and Nathan Maxfield presented a day-long CEU for over 180 SLPs from at least 6 different counties. They (re)discovered techniques that can help kids manage their stuttering. They also briefly highlighted current research questions, and emerging findings, in the area of childhood stuttering.
 

Information provided by Nathan D. Maxfield, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, SLP, and person who stutters
University of South Florida
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders