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The NSA provides support, friendship, and information to the stuttering community, instilling the sense of self-worth so often missing in the lives of those who battle this disorder. With members nationwide and over 100 self-help support groups in the United states, the NSA provides information about stuttering, increases public awareness of stuttering, serves as a support and advocacy group, and is a referral organization for speech therapy sources throughout the United States. Our support groups provide attendees with the opportunity to share fears, frustrations, and triumphs; practice therapeutic techniques to help control stuttering in a safe and supportive environment; engage in speaking experiences they might shy away from in their daily lives; and, perhaps most importantly, assist others in achieving these goals.
As a consumer-run organization, the NSA provides education and training to children and adults who stutter, parents, professionals, and the general public in an outgoing effort to increase understanding for the communication disorder of stuttering. The NSA has become a valuable resource for speech-language pathologists with information about how to increase the effectiveness of speech therapy in the schools. For example, the NSA's successful school in-service program has provided education and resources to school-based speech therapists and educators at the local and national level since 1989. Funded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2000, this rewarding program partnered NSA members with children who stutter and their parents so they could share first-hand experiences about the effects stuttering has had on their lives.
One benefit of membership in the NSA is receiving our numerous publications. NSA Newsletters Keep Your Students and Families Connected.
Family Voices/NSA Kids help each other! This special quarterly publication is designed for the families. Articles are written by and for children, teens, parents, speech language experts and NSA members. Your students can learn from their peers, reach out to others who stutter, and even become published authors by submitting their letters,stories, poems, and ideas. Kids are excited about the NSA's cartoon friends, the Stutter Buddies, who help kids have fun while they learn about stuttering! Teens read article about teens who stutter's personal experiences which gives them a chance to learn that they’re not alone in facing their stuttering.
Parents also find the support they need with this one-of-a-kind newsletter! With articles by leading experts in the field, helpful hints from other parents, and stories of promise and hope from our members, Family Voices helps parents share their experiences, concerns and triumphs as they help their children face the challenge of stuttering. Former editions of this newsletter can be found on the NSA website. Stay connected with the stuttering community. Letting Go is the premier newsletter for people who stutter and their families— and clinicians too! Keep current with NSA events, such as our annual conference, and learn about other resources for
helping kids who stutter.
Through our programs, events, and materials, we continue to try to reach new people who stutter all around the country. The NSA sponsors workshops for parents and children designed to educate families and local professionals, including speech therapists and preschool teachers, about early diagnosis and effective intervention strategies for children who stutter. We also help parents locate clinicians who specialize in stuttering treatment. Our adult workshops help to educate, motivate, and inspire members, whlie providing opportunities to explore various aspects of stuttering.
NSA members also participate actively in National Stuttering Awareness Week (NSAW). This annual event is a time for the NSA to work with speech therapists and the media in the hope that we can reach the thousands of people who stutter who still feel alone and isolated. The National Stuttering Association was instrumental in getting NSAW established by an act of Congress in 1988 through the hard work and dedication of a group of our members.
The National Stuttering Association also encourages its members to improve communication skills and offers speech therapy scholarships to intensive stuttering therapy programs throughout the U.S. Over the past 7 years, over 20 scholarships have been awarded to members from around the country.
A complete line of brochures, books, and tapes is available for people who stutter, parents, teachers, family, friends, and professionals. Often, these materials are distributed to schools, universities, hospitals, and libraries at no cost.
With over three million Americans sharing the problems of stuttering, the National Stuttering Association plays a vital role in letting people who stutter know that they are not alone through our programs and services.
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