Cameron Francek is on a personal mission to talk to 100 people over 100 days. His purpose is to spread awareness about stuttering and educate as many people as possible through engaging with them personally. The U.S. celebrates Stuttering Awareness Week May 12 - 18, and this Detroit, Michigan resident is using it as an opportunity to overcome his own fears, and at the same time helping others understand stuttering better. It is not only to spread the word about a problem faced by millions, but to help himself overcome the tremendous anxiety he felt when talking to people.

This is a personal journal of a mother whose child started stuttering at a young age. How stuttering, and the speech therapy sought to treat it, effects the child and the family is discussed. Names are not included to protect the child's identity.

February 26, 2013 – Why E?

My little boy has an assessment at ISTAR (Institute for Stuttering Treatment an Research) tomorrow.  It’s now 9:30pm, and in just over 12 hours I will be walking my baby there, knowing that he will be having therapy for stuttering.  Part of me is grateful that ISTAR is in Edmonton, so we only have a 30 minute drive to get to the some of the best therapy in the world. I know that with some therapy E will be fine and probably stutter-free, but a part of me feels like it is breaking my heart into pieces knowing that my baby is stuttering. I’ve had to tell my serious 3 year old that tomorrow we are going to meet a nice lady who helps kids talk better and she will help him unstuck his words.  I should be taking him skating or to a movie, not to speech therapy!

This is a review of the article, "Avoidance of eye gaze by adults who stutter," from the research publication the Journal of Fluency Disorders., 37 (2012) pgs 263-274.

The research was conducted and documented by Robyn Lowe, Adam J Guastella, Nigel T.M. Chen, Ross G. Menzies, Ann Packman, Sue O'Brian, Mark Onslow. They are with the Australian Stuttering Research Centre and the Brain & Mind Research Institute, both of the University of Sydney, Australia.

The experiment

The experiment described in this article examines how people who stutter (PWS) display behaviours associated with social anxiety disorder, namely the avoidance of eye contact, and the implications of this behaviour. Social anxiety disorder occurs higher among stutterers than in the general population, with estimates of between 45% - 60% experiencing it, making it the most common type of anxiety disorder amongst PWS. The condition is characterized by a disproportionate fear of social situations, and an overriding, chronic fear of social humiliation and embarrassment.