To: Stuttering Community
From: Keith Boss
Regarding: December 2014 eNewsflash
Current and future e-Newsflashes
We have changed the way we link up with you. We use Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isastutter) much more. Our e-newsflash (https://www.isastutter.org/news/e-newsflash), and One Voice (https://www.isastutter.org/news/one-voice-newsletter) are now notified to you via Facebook. Please add us to your favourites; please look at our Facebook page often; please contribute; tell us what you like or want improved; click on LIKE whenever possible. Comment about https://www.facebook.com/isastutter on your own Facebook page and ask your readers to visit and LIKE us! Tell us how we can help you or your local group. Let us know if you have any ideas about how to improve our Facebook use.
Message for 2015
In the final months of 2014 we started several new tasks. These will produce results in 2015.
2015 will be a very good year for the ISA and the goal to spread the awareness of stuttering.
I wish you all well and hope that 2015 will be a superb year for all of our readers.
One Voice 36
ISA is preparing for the new issue of One Voice. We need your articles for the new issue of One Voice by Monday 12th January 2015.
You can write about：
- What you are doing for the ISA;
- What is going on in your own Associations / Countries
- Self help groups / Chapters in your own Countries;
- Anything you want to tell to our Global community;
- Any conferences / Open Days you held or were part of recently? What are you planning to do in
near future? Readers would really like to hear your experiences. - Do you have any useful research?
- ISAD activities
- Anything many members want to read is welcome.
- Photos with any article will be very helpful.
Please send all articles and photos to me and I will pass them on to our Editor, Josh.
If you need inspiration, please see https://www.isastutter.org/news/one-voice-newsletter.
I look forward to hearing from you all.
Thank you in advance and take care,
Regards,
Masuhiko Kawasaki <ma-kawas@sa2.so-net.ne.jp>
Africa
We have a new project in Africa. ISA Outreach Africa. The ISA is very keen to help all PWS on the continent of Africa. We now think there are more productive ways to help Africans than trying to help with an African Congress. We would like Africans in different Countries to work with us to set up their own National websites / Self Help Groups and National Associations. In time each Country can have meetings of Self Help Groups and then hold National meetings. As in Rwanda it would be good to set up online therapy and online group discussions possibly via a National University with their better computer facilities and bandwidth. We are finding out more about what professional help is available in Africa, because a small number of African Universities give or are planning to give SLT/SLP courses to train new SLTs/SLPs. Details will be available soon. We want to link to Universities in Africa to help in our ‘spreading awareness’ role. If you want to work on these ideas in your Country and will take a leadership role, then please contact Hanan Hurwitz <hanan.hurwitz@gmail.com> who is project leader for this work. More in the next e-newsflash..
ISA Business
Our Treasurer will try to send 2014 invoices to Associations this year. We request that payments are made in GBP £ sterling. This will save the ISA the costs of currency conversion. A payment by PayPal will be available as well.
Outreach committee and the 5 sub committees. Continued work with Israel Chicago (USA) and Jordan. There are many ideas being assessed about what to do in Africa.
Website. We need your thoughts on what you want to see in the ISA website. We are looking for ideas on content. (We also need extra volunteers to join our web team).
World Congress 2016. We are looking at the dates of July -10 2016. There are still issues to be resolved on room price and banquet costs, so there is no definite location yet. Currently we are looking at Atlanta GA near the East Coast. More as soon as possible.
Stuttering Therapies
I have tried to find more SLPs /SLTs who will write about their therapies that go beyond the words we stumble over. I have had no success. I speak to more and more professionals and so I believe this type of approach to therapy is being practiced in more Countries by many SLPs / SLTs. We need to see more about it in writing from more professionals to remove some myths about he limitations of professionals in treatments of stuttering clients.
Please remember, I would like to hear from Therapists from all around the world who use additional therapies (outside the conventional help with the words from our mouths). I would like an article from you about your treatment of people who stutter. I believe for example that the Japanese Self Help Groups look into the benefits of Assertiveness Training, Gestalt Therapy, Psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy. I know of the use of ACT and an adapted Mindfulness Therapy.
Could I have volunteers to write an article on one of the above or on any other therapy out there being used with success? If so, please contact me so that I can include your article from November onwards.
Would PWS contact me with details of an additional therapy which worked for them.
My warmest wishes to you all for Happy Holidays / Happy Christmas and a joyful and action packed 2015.
Keith
Keith Boss (Chair International Stuttering Association (ISA))