Here comes an anniversary that speaks volumes for the speech community. The University of Cincinnati's annual Fluency Friday workshop turns 25 this year, proving to be more than just a fleeting affair in the speech pathology realm. For a quarter of a century, this one-day workshop has been opening its doors to children and teens who stutter – offering them a space to learn, share, and connect without the weight of judgment on their shoulders.
Mark your calendars for Nov. 14, when the Health Sciences Building on UC's medical campus becomes ground zero for empowerment and education. In a classy move for the anniversary, organizers have waived the attendance fee. Even the workshop is set to unveil a fresher identity with a new name, signaling another era of support for the stuttering community.
"Our aim is not to stop children from stuttering, because stuttering is neurophysiological in nature," Katrina Purcell, a speech-language pathologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and one of the event organizers, told the University of Cincinnati. "Our message is simple: Keep talking. We have strategies to make communication easier, but it’s absolutely OK to stutter."
Participants can expect an immersive experience with one-on-one and group sessions deftly led by UC speech-language pathology grad students. These aspiring professionals get real-world training while providing a safe space for young people to bond over shared experiences. And let's not forget the caregivers - they're in for a treat too, with strategic insights on supporting their young ones. Maria Agnello, a former attendee, offered some potent testimony: "I realized because of Fluency Friday that it is OK to stutter," she told the University of Cincinnati.
Commemorating its founders, the late Diane Games and Irv Wollman, Fluency Friday will also present the Irv Wollman Do the Right Thing Award. This nod celebrates the legacy of these trailblazers by highlighting remarkable contributions to the field of speech pathology.
As for what's next, Purcell and her team aim to keep the core mission intact while adapting the exterior, so to speak. "We want the new name and the event to reflect our philosophy,” Purcell said in a statement obtained by UC News. “Talking shouldn’t be hard. With the right support, kids can learn it’s OK to stutter — and that their voices matter." Indeed, as we usher in the next 25 years, the focus remains crystal clear: lifting the voices of young people who stutter, one word at a time.
