Stuttering Foundation Podcast

Stuttering Foundation

Stuttering Foundation provides resources, services, and support to individuals who stutter, their families, and professionals who serve them. SF offers comprehensive, up-to-date information on stuttering through its publications, workshops, virtual learning webinars, and now, podcast! Join us for discussions on clinical skills development and support, parent education and awareness, and inspiring personal stories.

  1. May 26

    “If the Scatman Can Do It, So Can You”: Exploring the Legacy of Scatman John with Gina Waggott

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Gina Waggott, author of Scatman John: The Remarkable Story of the World’s Unlikeliest Popstar, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF, for a conversation exploring the life, legacy, stuttering journey, and lasting impact of Scatman John. The discussion explores how Scatman John’s visibility, openness, and mentorship profoundly shaped Gina’s relationship with stuttering and ultimately inspired her to write his biography. She also shares more about the process of researching and writing the book, including conducting more than 100 interviews to better understand John Larkin not simply as a pop culture figure, but as a musician, mentor, and role model whose message continues to resonate with new generations of people who stutter today. Scatman John: The Remarkable Story of the World’s Unlikeliest Popstar More on Scatman John on the Stuttering Foundation's Website Gina Waggott is a writer, editor, and former BBC professional with a background spanning broadcasting, journalism, and disability advocacy. She is a covert stutterer trying to be more overt, and has been involved in the stuttering community for 25 years. She is currently the Finance & Operations Manager at 50 Million Voices.

    39 min

  2. Apr 21

    From Workbook to Practice: Applying “What’s True for You” with School-Age Children

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Susan Hamilton Burleigh, M.A., CCC-SLP, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to explore how clinicians, particularly those newer to working with stuttering, can bring Stuttering Foundation resources to life in everyday therapy. Susan brings over 40 years of experience in private practice specializing in stuttering and fluency disorders and has taught and supervised graduate training in stuttering at the University of Washington. She also co-led the Stuttering Foundation’s Western Workshop for two decades alongside Marilyn Langevin and Jennifer Watson. In this practical, clinician-focused episode, Susan and Sara take the “What’s True For You” activity from The School-Age Child Who Stutters: Working Effectively with Attitudes and Emotions Workbook and walk through how it can be used, expanded, and adapted to support meaningful therapy. Through discussion and a demonstration role-play, they highlight how the activity can help build rapport, deepen understanding of a child’s unique experiences, and guide next steps in therapy.

    1h 5m

  3. Mar 17

    Keeping the Person in the Center with Kristin Chmela

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Kristin Chmela, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF, of the Chmela Communication Center, join host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss what it means to keep the person at the center of stuttering therapy. The conversation explores what person-centered care looks like in practice and how clinicians can keep the individual who stutters at the heart of clinical decision-making. She also introduce the Circle of Principles, describing how this framework can support thoughtful reflection, guide problem-solving in therapy, and help clinicians navigate complexities while remaining grounded in the needs and experiences of the person they support. Kristin Chmela, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF has serviced children and teens who stutter for almost forty years at the Chmela Communication Center in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.  She is an author, lecturer, consultant, and co-founder and Director of the Training and Therapeutic Experience Program at Camp Shout Out. Kristin holds certifications in yoga, mindfulness, and trauma informed practices.  She continues to spend the majority of her time helping individuals who stutter, clutter, and have other fluency challenges and remains passionate about helping speech language pathologists service this population.

    30 min

  4. Feb 17

    Exploration of Parents’ and Children’s Perspectives of Change Following Palin STSC Stuttering Therapy

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Martha Jeffery, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss a qualitative research project exploring parents’ and children’s perspectives of change following one year of Palin STSC (8–14 years old) therapy. Martha shares the aims and design of the study, which examined how children participating in group or individual therapy, and their parents, described the changes they experienced, and what felt most meaningful. Drawing on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, the conversation highlights key themes including shifts in perspective, increased confidence and participation, greater use of skills and strategies, and growing independence and resilience. Martha reflects on how meaningful change from the child and parent perspectives can positively contribute to our therapy development, outcome measurement, individualization, and guide future training and research. Bio: Martha Jeffery is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering  in London, UK and she has worked there since 2013.  She started her career as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2008, and before then she had an earlier life in conference organizing and then banking. At the Michael Palin Centre she works with children and young people who stammer and their families, carrying out assessments and delivering therapy individually and in groups.  She also has a smaller caseload of adults who stammer. She is a co-cordinator of the Michael Palin Centre’s training programme, which delivers 12 core courses that range from therapy programmes such as Palin PCI, to using psychological approaches such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy with people who stammer.  The Centre’s training courses reach over 600  speech and language therapists globally each year, which reaches an estimated 6000 children who stammer worldwide annually.  Martha also devises and delivers training programmes - most recently a one-day course on Cluttering.  The third strand of Martha’s work at The Michael Palin Centre, is contributing to their research programme and she will be talking about the research project she is currently working on today. Martha has attended additional training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and has an Advanced Certificate in Solution Focused Brief Therapy from BRIEF (London)’s year-long programme.  She is co-author of Solution Focused Brief Therapy with Children and Young People who Stammer and their Parents: A Practical Guide from the Michael Palin Centre (2024) with Ali Berquez.  She is not a person who stammers, but she is married to a person who stammers and is mother to two children - one whose stammer resolved and one whose stammer has continued.

    44 min

  5. Jan 13

    Being Truly Family-Centered with Dr. David Luterman

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! David Luterman, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, Professor Emeritus at Emerson College, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to explore what it truly means to be family-centered in clinical practice. Drawing on more than 60 years of clinical and teaching experience, Dr. Luterman shares stories and formative moments that have shaped his belief in placing families at the center of assessment and therapy. The conversation invites clinicians to reflect on how thoughtfully supporting families can foster deeper, more meaningful change for clients. Additional Resources: Empowering the Client with Dr. David Luterman60 Years of Clinical Teacher in Counseling: Reflections with Dr. David LutermanSharpening Counseling Skills Parent Counseling: Conversations with David Luterman David Luterman, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is a professor emeritus at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and Director of the Thayer Lindsey Family Centered Nursery for Hearing Impaired Children. He is the author of many articles and several books, including his seminal book called Counseling Persons with Communication Disorders and Their Families, now in its 5th edition. He has done several podcasts and a DVD through the Stuttering Foundation called Counseling People who Stutter and Their Families. In addition to authoring many books, he is a well-known teacher, researcher, consultant, and lecturer. Dr. Luterman is a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and recipient of the Frank Kleffner Clinical Achievement Award (2011).

    31 min

  6. 11/11/2025

    Investigating Stuttering at the Cellular Level with Dr. Shahriar SheikhBahaei

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Dr. Shahriar SheikhBahaei, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss emerging research exploring the cellular and neurobiological mechanisms underlying stuttering. Dr. SheikhBahaei shares his journey from lived experience with stuttering to leading a neuroscience research lab investigating how glial cells, particularly astrocytes, contribute to motor control and speech-related circuits. The conversation delves into several recent studies from his lab that utilize mouse models to uncover how alterations in astrocyte function and iron regulation may relate to the neural pathways involved in stuttering. Dr. SheikhBahaei walks listeners through the background, scientific rationale, and key findings of these studies, highlighting what they reveal about the non-vocal motor aspects of stuttering and how this basic science may inform future directions in understanding and treatment. The episode concludes with reflections on bridging laboratory research with the lived experiences of people who stutter and fostering collaboration among scientists, clinicians, and the stuttering community. Resources discussed: SheikhBahaei, S., et al. (2025). Non-vocal motor deficits in a transgenic mouse model linked to stuttering disorders. bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.08.669441v2SheikhBahaei, S., et al. (2025). Iron dysregulation in mice engineered with a mutation associated with stuttering. bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.30.667752v1SheikhBahaei, S., et al. (2024). Scientists, society, and stuttering: A multi-stakeholder approach. International Journal of Clinical Practice. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijcp.13678Shahriar SheikhBahaei, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and faculty member at Stony Brook University. His research focuses on how the brain controls complex motor behaviors such as speech and breathing, particularly focusing on the role of astrocytes in neural circuits. Growing up with stuttering has influenced his lifelong pursuit to understand the neurobiology of speech and communication. He completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience through a joint program at University College London and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He later became one of the first Independent Research Scholars at NIH, where he established his own lab. At Stony Brook University, he continues to investigate the cellular and circuit foundations of speech disorders while also mentoring the next generation of scientists and advocating for more inclusive perspectives on communication.

    48 min

  7. 10/14/2025

    Emotional Processing in Children Who Stutter with Dr. Hatun Zengin-Bolatkale

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Dr. Hatun Zengin-Bolatkale, Assistant Professor in the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State University, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss findings from a two-part research project examining emotional processing and control in children who stutter. Dr. Zengin-Bolatkale begins by sharing her background and what led her into the field of stuttering research. She then guides listeners through her work investigating the interplay between emotions and stuttering, drawing on multiple methods to better understand this complex relationship. The conversation highlights two key studies (referenced below), covering relevant background, study design, surprising and noteworthy findings, and the implications of the results. Dr. Zengin-Bolatkale closes by sharing exciting future areas of research and projects she has underway.  Papers discussed: Zengin-Bolatkale, H., Key, A. P., & Jones, R. M. (2025). Cortical emotional reactivity, caregiver-reported emotional control, and stuttering frequency in young children. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 85, Article 106139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2025.106139Zengin-Bolatkale, H., Conture, E. G., Key, A. P., Walden, T. A., & Jones, R. M. (2018). Cortical associates of emotional reactivity and regulation in childhood stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 56, 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2018.04.001Hatun Zengin-Bolatkale, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor in the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State University. She’s a speech-language pathologist by training and has over a decade of experience across working clinically, teaching, and doing research in the field, with a focus on stuttering. She earned her master’s in speech-language pathology from the University of Illinois and completed her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. Her work focuses on young children who stutter, with a special interest in how cognitive, emotional, and language-related factors influence the way stuttering develops—and why some children recover while others do not. In her research, she uses a variety of tools, from parent reports and behavioral observation to physiological measures like skin conductance, heart rate, and brain activity, to get a more complete picture of stuttering. Her ultimate goal is to support more informed and individualized approaches to assessment and treatment.

    55 min

  8. 09/09/2025

    Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: Mitch Guerra on Survivor and Stuttering

    Want to share your feedback? Send us a message! Mitch Guerra—educator, stuttering advocate, and recent contestant on Survivor Season 48—joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to share his story. Mitch reflects on his stuttering journey, from early challenges in school to pivotal moments that shaped his confidence in high school and college, and ultimately his 20-year pursuit of a lifelong dream to compete on Survivor. He discusses the perseverance it took to finally make it onto the show, what it meant to represent both himself and the stuttering community on national television, and how meaningful moments—including a viral exchange with host Jeff Probst—sparked broader conversations about listening and acceptance. Mitch also reflects on the role of stuttering in building deep connections, his return to the classroom after Survivor, and the powerful impact his visibility has had on students who also stutter. To close, he offers inspiring advice to young people who stutter: “Even if you haven’t seen someone like you do it before, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible—you might just be the one to go first.”

    54 min
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About

Stuttering Foundation provides resources, services, and support to individuals who stutter, their families, and professionals who serve them. SF offers comprehensive, up-to-date information on stuttering through its publications, workshops, virtual learning webinars, and now, podcast! Join us for discussions on clinical skills development and support, parent education and awareness, and inspiring personal stories.

Information

  • Creator
    Stuttering Foundation
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    99
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Stuttering Foundation Podcast
  • Show Website
    Stuttering Foundation Podcast

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