FRIENDS STUTTERING CONFERENCE 2019

What to expect? This one-day workshop is designed to bring together young children and teenagers who stutter, their parents, members of stuttering self-help groups, and speech-language pathologists. Adults who stutter are also encouraged to join us. Separate workshops will be presented for adults, teenagers, children, and professionals. The workshop format includes presentations, small group discussions and panel presentations. Emphasis will be placed on integrating treatment techniques and support services for people who stutter. Offerings for children will include enjoyable workshops on stuttering facilitated by speech-language pathologists and members of the adult stuttering community.  Lunch of pizza, cookies and drink is included in the registration fee (no dietary modifications availible).  Speech pathologists and assistants can earn .5 CEU’s for attending.  Ryan Pollard, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.  He teaches couses in the undergraduate as well as graduate department in fluency disorders and counseling.  As clinical faculty he supervisies therapy sessions in the areas of flucny and other speech disorders, the adult Stuttering Support and Practice Group and is the co-director of Colorado Speaks, a summer camp for teens who stutter.  Prior to becoming faculty at CU, Dr. Pollard worked as an early intervention and school-based SLP, supervised diagnositc and externship practicum in the area of stuttering, and conducted intensive clincis at the American Institute for Stuttering in Manhatan.  He is involved training clinicians in comprehensive stuttering therapy and advocating for those who stutter, volunteering his time with with FRIENDS and The Stuttering Association for the Young ( SAY).  Loryn McGill, M.S. CCC-SLP, is the owner of OC Fluency Center, a clinic providing therapy exclusively for people who stutter and is adjunct faculty at Chapman University where she is Professor of Fluency disorders.  She has presented and organized FRIENDS conferences around the country, presented CEU courses, and presented at ASHA, CSHA , NSA, ISA, NSAW, and for school districts on the topic of fluency disorders. She is active in the multidicipliary treament of stuttering with other health care professionals at UC Riverside.  She has done international research examining differences in early identification factors of stuttering and is the co-developer the Stuttering Indicators for Physicians (SIP).  She is the Orange County co-chapter leader for the NSA and a West Coast Coordinator for The Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY).  Nora O'Connor, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and a person who stutters. Nora has actively been involved in the stuttering self help movement for over 15 years. Nora earned her Master’s in Social Work from San Francisco State University. She works in the addiction field treating mental illness and substance abuse. She also facilitates counseling groups and individual therapy, for people who stutter, in her private practice. Nora treats the emotional response to stuttering using CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness interventions.  Nora is on staff at the Successful Stuttering Management Program, at Eastern Washington University.  Reuben Schuff is a person who stutters, aurospace engineer, juggler, traveler and speaker.  He lives in Los Angeles and actively participates with the stuttering community, including NSA, FRIENDS, and the Stuttertalk Podcast.  He believes that communication is intended to be a joyful part of the journey and works to spread this message through workshops, writing and speaking.  He is also a co-leader of the OC NSA Family Chapter.   Lisa Villarreal, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist who works with children and teens who stutter in a clinical setting and conducts speech and language assessments for students of all grade levels in the school setting.  Lisa is actively involved in the stuttering community.  She has led workshops at FRIENDS one-day conferences in Orange County and volunteers with Camp SAY: West Coast. Hear more about what it is like to attend a one-day conference http://stuttertalk.com/?s=so+nice+to+be+me ~ Other members of the adult stuttering communitiy will be facilitating workshops and participating in panel discussions ~ Parking Lot Policy:  Street parking is available in the area, note the city signs. All of the parking lots on campus will be open. Follow the signs to purchase low cost parking permits at the kiosks in all the lots.