Using information from his pending biography of Van Riper, Barry will discuss how Van Riper transformed himself from a severe stutterer without hope to become a fluent stutterer.  He soon developed a treatment technique that was successful with stutterers throughout the world and treated Barry with his broad approach that changed Barry’s life.
 
Learning Objectives:
Participants will demonstrate the ability to:
1 Learn about Van Riper’s inspiring odyssey from near-suicidal helplessness to tough and compelling therapist, teacher, and researcher who changed the nature of stuttering treatment.  
2 Learn about the key influences on Van Riper’s life.
3 Learn the critical aspects of Van Riper’s treatment for stuttering and how it affected Barry.
 
Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists, graduate students, individuals who stutter.

Bio: Barry Guitar began life as a severe stutterer and learned to manage it successfully to stutter fluently.  His therapy with Van Riper motivated him to travel the world to test the effectiveness of his treatment and then become a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Vermont.  He has received funding from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and other institutions, as well as awards from American Speech Language Hearing Association, University of Vermont, Carnegie Foundation, and Western Michigan University.