We are happy to announce a new therapy program for current or past clients of the American Institute for Stuttering. This is a three-day refresher course focusing on vocal fold management, run by Chamonix Olsen Sikora. Here are the details:
This fall, we will roll out many new stuttering therapy programs for both new clients and alumni of AIS. These programs will meet diverse schedules and needs and will allow us to help as many people as possible.
AIS alumni can enroll in the Vocal Fold Management Refresher by contacting us or calling (212) 633-6400.
At the end of every AIS intensive stuttering therapy program, we have Friends and Family Day, where clients invite their friends and family to watch them give a speech. It’s the highlight of every intensive program here, when the clients face their fears and embrace the freedom to speak.
The August intensive program had their Friends and Family Day last week, and we are happy to report that we can share some of the speeches. Here is Mike Delgado’s speech, entitled A Free Man.
A Free Man
My name is Mike Delgado. I am a proud stutterer working on my speech, please be patient as I use my techniques.
Three weeks ago I walked in to this very room feeling excited and a bit frightful. I was flooded with waves of emotions and expectations. I knew that the next 3 weeks would be challenging yet essential in overcoming the obstacles I have been facing my entire life. On the first day, a group of 8 strangers sat in a circle and began a journey that we could only imagine. In the days that followed, I found myself gaining confidence. Day by day, I felt a change taking place. A change from deep within. As the weeks passed, I learned to face stuttering head on and accept it for what it is. Stuttering is a small part of who I am and it does not define me. I have always viewed stuttering as a curse. The ruler of my world, my life. I slowly realized I’m the master of my own world. I control every aspect of it. I used to live in a world where stuttering commanded my life, but now the world has changed. The light has been shined on my faults and finally I can honestly say “I am free from its bond and I’m in the driver seat”.
I can not begin to explain how it feels to be set free. Free from a prison of fear and shame. I have longed for this day for the last 25 years. The day has come. I feel comfortable in my own skin and accepted by all. I stand before you all as a man who has been released from his shackles. A man who has dared to dream and achieved. A man who has faced his fears and triumphed. A man who challenged his speech and has freed his voice. I am a free man.
Search Stories is a creative video series on YouTube that uses Google searches to tell a story. For example, here is the most popular Search Story that tells of a romance in France.
Google gives you the ability to create your own Search Stories. We figured we could tell a cool story relating to stuttering (and AIS, of course). So, we made one. And then another. And then two more.
Here are our four Search Stories. We hope that you like them!
“Nephew Tommy” is a comedy routine on the popular radio show The Steve Harvey Morning Show. Listeners submit a request through the show’s website for ‘Nephew Tommy’ (played by comedian and Harvey’s real-life nephew Thomas Miles) to prank call their friend. The ensuing phone conversation is recorded and played on the show.
In a recent installment of “Nephew Tommy,” Miles calls a man who stutters about an order with a rental store for an upcoming party. For the prank, Miles poses as an employee of the store who happens to stutter as well. The man’s sister requested the prank.
Nick and Susan met during the January intensive stuttering therapy program here at AIS. They’ve talked on the phone almost every day since. Learn why and hear about how the intensive program changed how they view their lives.
Last November at the ASHA Convention in New Orleans, some ASHA representatives were videotaping clinicians to find out what their stories were and how they got into the field. I was approached while on my way to the poster hall and agreed to do it. They said they would select some of the clinicians and it may end up on the ASHA website.
I totally forgot about it and recently a colleague from an old job emailed me that when he went to the ASHA website, he saw the video and was now asking for an autograph (you know, as a joke).
Laughing aside, I think it is interesting to see what drew people to our field. For me, I was drawn to the area of stuttering right off the bat in graduate school. They chose to air that story that I told.
Our 4th Annual Fundraiser Gala was held Monday night, and it was a phenomenal evening. Catherine was lovingly remembered, our honorees energized the crowd, and our clients touched the hearts of everyone in the room. A full write-up is in the works.
In the meantime, here are two articles relating to the gala:
Our dear founder and Executive Director of AIS, Catherine Otto Montgomery, passed away last week after an extended fight against cancer. A week later, we are still processing this loss in the midst of keeping the work of AIS going. The work before us is imposing, but with the AIS family behind us and Catherine’s fiery spirit driving us, we plan to reach the goals that she had for us and beyond.
Visit this page to join the many others who have left an expression of love for Catherine.
