Friends: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter

We are the only 501(c)(3) national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to empowering young people who stutter and their families.

Meet your Friends in Charlotte!

28th Annual Convention

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Thu. 7/10 at 1:00pm - Sat. 7/12 at 11:00pm

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Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte Uptown

Join us for three days packed with support, education, connection, and excitement for kids, teens, and adults who stutter, siblings, parents and caregivers, significant others, SLPs, and students. Activities include workshops, panels, sessions led by highly esteemed researchers, exciting keynote speakers, family activities, open mics, and more!

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Send families to Friends

❤ Help us change lives, one scholarship at a time

Friends touches many lives every year, but not everyone who wants to attend our annual convention can afford to. We are delighted that so many families of young people who stutter have found us, and we do our best to support them fully. Our scholarships are often the difference between them joining us and them staying home.

To meet the need this year, we hope to raise at least $15,000, and we need your help. Every single dollar helps us bring someone to the convention, and 100% of funds raised will go towards scholarships. Help us make sure no one has to miss Friends because of financial barriers.

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Our Mission

Friends aims to provide support, education and empowerment to children and teens who stutter, their families and clinicians.

Our annual conventions and regional one day conferences provide the opportunities for life-changing experiences that can impact long lasting feelings about stuttering and offer new hope for a life with stuttering. Friends seeks to make life easier for young people who stutter and their families.

Our Story

In 1997, Friends was founded by John Ahlbach and Lee Caggiano to meet the need for organized support and education for young people who stutter and their families. Over the years, we have expanded into a national organization that hosts a large annual convention each July and many regional one-day conferences around the country throughout the year.

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