Description: Speech-language pathologists often feel undertrained and less experienced treating children who stutter compared to other speech and language disorders. Likewise, parents of children who stutter often feel confused and frustrated by the variability and multifaceted nature of stuttering. This presentation will describe the use of the WHO-ICF framework in stuttering therapy. Addressing the behaviors of stuttering, the attitudes and feelings, as well as the environment and participation of the person who stutters will lead to success for that individual. This presentation will focus on the behaviors and thoughts and feelings.

We will use real-life examples to describe stuttering and stuttering therapy across domains and provide ideas to use immediately in therapy with children who stutter.

Bio: Joe Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Joe teaches classes in fluency disorders and research methods and supervises therapy for people who stutter. Joe has presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and The National Stuttering Association annual conventions in the United States and for Friends: The Association of Young People who Stutter in India and the US. He has also published articles about stuttering in Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Perspectives in Fluency Disorders, and The Journal of Fluency Disorders. Joe’s research interests are in the areas of support and therapy for people who stutter. Joe lives in Boone, NC with his wife, Holly, and children, Zachary, Greta, Emaline, and Abraham.