Feb 17

Good News from The Stuttering Foundation!!

Good News from The Stuttering Foundation!!

Recently The Stuttering Foundation released what it calls the “I Stutter Card”.  It is a small card that can fit in a person’s wallet or pocket and can assist travelers who stutter when going through TSA and/or Customs screenings at airports.  The “I Stutter Card” can be downloaded/printed from The Stuttering Foundation’s website at StutteringHelp.org  or requested by email at info@StutteringHelp.org (the card was requested more than 313,000 times in October 2017 alone).

Pat Feeney, a retired TSA Officer, believes that the card can be very useful for “someone who stutters and is very nervous about the screening process that TSA does at the airport”.  Feeney also added that passengers who need assistance (including those who stutter) “can call TSA Cares (1-855-787-2227… they request at least 72hours notice to arrange for a PSS, contact the passenger. make arrangements to meet them at the airport, and assist them with getting through security) and request a Passenger Support Specialist (PSS)”.

The Stuttering Foundation also notes that travelers needing assistance can email TSA Cares at TSA-ContactCenter@tsa.dhs.gov.  Additional information can be obtained by visiting www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support.

NOTE: Information for this post was gathered from the Winter 2017 newsletter from The Stuttering Foundation
Apr 29

Fluency

Fluency is the aspect of speech production that refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort. Stuttering, the most common fluency disorder, is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by repetitions (sounds, syllables, words, phrases), sound prolongations, blocks, interjections, and revisions, which may affect the rate and rhythm of speech. These disfluencies may be accompanied by physical tension, negative reactions, secondary behaviors, and avoidance of sounds, words, or speaking situations (ASHA, 1993; Yaruss, 1998; Yaruss, 2004). Cluttering, another fluency disorder, is characterized by a perceived rapid and/or irregular speech rate, which results in breakdowns in speech clarity and/or fluency (St. Louis & Schulte, 2011).

ASHA: Fluency