For people who stutter (PWS), the following scenario — or some variation of it — is all too familiar. You are standing in line at Starbucks. You know exactly what you’re going to order: Pumpkin Spice Latte. Grande.
Frontiers for Young Minds is a website that makes science discoveries available and appealing to younger audiences. Children work with mentors to curate and write articles about science topics. This month they tackled the subject of stuttering, read it here.
The Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR), part of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is conducting a research study involving the changing facial movements of people who stutter while they are talking. Torrey Loucks, a professor at U of A, is the lead researcher, and says his work could shed light on potential treatments for stuttering. This study started in June 2018 and will be going on until October 2019.
Dr. Gerald Maguire is a well-known figure in the stuttering community. He is a regular participant in events for people who stutter around the world (including ours in Canada!) As a doctor and a person who stutters, Maguire has a well-rounded perspective on the best way to approach treatment.
Dr. Dennis Drayna is a human geneticist well known to the stuttering community for his renowned work researching the genetic basis of speech disorders. His team has made groundbreaking discoveries in the field and he has frequently appeared at conferences to share his findings. In April he was interviewed by Ben Chambers on the podcast Speaking of Science. Here is a summary of the interview.
A team of researchers and graduate students at the University of Texas at San Atonio have been awarded a grant to create brain-computer interface technology that will study brain activity patterns of people who stutter.