One Day Conferences
Families, Professionals, and Friends Working TogetherWhat you can expect at a one-day workshop:
Fun! You’ll also find support, information and meet other people dedicated to living successfully with stuttering.
The workshop format includes presentations, small discussion groups, panel presentations and group activities. Children, teens, siblings, parents and speech-language pathologists attend sessions geared specifically toward their individual needs.
Children’s programming is activity-based and focuses on feelings about and strategies for dealing with stuttering. This programming is facilitated by speech-language pathologists and members of the adult stuttering community.
Upcoming One-Day Conferences
More 2025 locations and dates to be announced soon. Stay tuned!
Raleigh, NC | Saturday, March 1, 2025
Partnership Magnet Elementary
601 Devereux St, Raleigh, NC 27605
Registration coming soon!
Chicago, IL | Saturday, April 12, 2025
DePaul Speech and Language Clinic
2400 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago IL 60614
Registration coming soon!
Financial assistance is available. If you are a family and you would like to attend a one-day conference, but you are experiencing financial difficulties and find the cost prohibitive, please reach out to Nic Brow at: nic@friendswhostutter.org
If you are interested in hosting a one-day conference in your area, or have questions about any existing one-day conferences, please contact Nic Brow at: nic@friendswhostutter.org
Philadelphia, PA
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
02/15/2020
View Flyer | Register
Meet & Greet* in
Columbus, OH
at Tommy’s Pizza
02/23/2020
View Flyer | Facebook
*This is a social event.
ODC will be in Fall 2020.
Pittsburgh, PA
University of Pittsburgh: School of Health & Rehab Sciences
Postponed – New Date TBD
Kean University
Postponed – New Date TBA
For Families
The Friends one-day conference is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and learn about stuttering while meeting other people who are dealing with similar struggles.
For Parents
- Learn how to best support your child
- Meet other parents of children who stutter
- Share experiences & concerns with people who “get it”
For Children
- Meet others who stutter
- Have fun talking!
- Learn about stuttering
- Increase your confidence communicating
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Explain the relationship between effective intervention and self–esteem for children who stutter.
- Describe the need for a management approach to childhood stuttering that includes parents, professionals and support networks.
- Identify specific social and clinical strategies for supporting children and their families.
Read Financial and Non-Financial Disclosures
Cara Duggal has no financial or non-financial disclosures to report.
Jennifer Hartis, M.S., CCC-SLP is a salaried employee of Deer Park Independent School District and receives compensation through private practice clients. She has no non-financial disclosures.
Rosie Morales Brown, M.S., CCC-SLP is a salaried employee of Deer Park Independent School District. She has no non-financial disclosures.
Ana Paula G. Souza Mumy, SLPD, CCC-SLP is a salaried employee at East Texas Baptist University. Non-financial disclosures: She is Co-founder and President of Spero Stuttering, Inc.
About the Presenters and Facilitators
Nic Brow M.A., CCC-SLP works as a speech language pathologist at the Sisskin Stuttering Center and as an Adjunct Faculty at George Washington University. He has worked as a speech therapist within multiple public schools with students from the preschool to high school level. Nic frequently presents on stuttering affirming therapy both nationally and internationally. He predominantly works with youth who stutter and their families, within the framework of Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering (ARTS®). In his free time, Nic enjoys surfing, pickleball, and spending time with family and friends.
Rosie Brown, MA, CCC-SLP, is a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist at Deer Park ISD. She helped revive the Houston National Stuttering Association as Chapter Leader and is actively involved in the local chapter. She has participated in hosting the Stuttering Fun Day at Deer Park ISD, a one-day National Stuttering Association conference in Houston, and was a host on Stutter Social. Rosie Brown is on the Non-Profit Houston Stutter Social for Kids. She likes to spend time with family, cooking, and hiking.
Cara Duggal is a parent and sister to people who stutter. She is the founder of Houston Stutter Social for Kids (501c3) and is an advocate for people who stutter starting with her own son. She has a marketing degree from the University of Houston and has spent over two decades working in experiential marketing. In her spare time, Cara enjoys spending time with her husband and kids, cuddling her cats, and being active.
Jennifer Hartis, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the Lead Speech-Language Pathologist for Deer Park ISD, a Spero Ally of Stuttering, Trained in Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering (ARTS®), a Trained SOS Approach to Feeding Therapist, as well as a private practice clinician. She has been a speech pathologist for 30 years, working in various settings mentoring/ training speech pathology assistants, graduate students, interns, and fellow speech-language pathologists. One of her deepest passions is supporting students who stutter – creating spaces where students who stutter can connect, learn, and grow. She founded the Houston Stuttering Fun Day, a half-day event supported by respected organizations like NSA, SAY, etc. which provides students and their families with a supportive environment to share experiences, learn from one another, and build a strong community. She enjoys singing, crafting and spending time with family/ friends.
Ana Paula G. Souza Mumy, SLPD, CCC-SLP, is a trilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, Program Director and Associate Professor. She teaches stuttering at the graduate level and has provided and supervised clinical services for people who stutter across the lifespan. She is the co-founder and president of Spero Stuttering, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to help, empower, and advocate for the stuttering community and their families by equipping those who work with people who stutter. Ana Paula is also a facilitator at Camp Shout Out, a one-of-a-kind camp for youth who stutter. She received the NSA’s 2022 Professional of the Year award and the 2024 Burtis-Vogel-Elkins Community Service Award for her service and initiatives through Spero Stuttering. She enjoys singing, writing, reading, and traveling with her husband and kids.
Testimonial for Friends One Day Conference
As a first time local host organizer, we found the process of setting up a one day conference to be very worthwhile. From the beginning, Lee Caggiano kept us informed of the requirements and provided good detail about the recommendations for everything from room necessities to activity ideas.
As a growing stuttering department, we felt this was an excellent way to open our doors to the stuttering community in central Indiana. Families of children who stutter, community SLP’s and local Universities were able to come together setting the foundation for future collaboration in helping those who stutter in Indiana!
Most impactful, however, was the privilege of having both Sara MacIntyre (conference coordinator) and Dr. Heather Grossman (guest speaker) lead our Indianapolis One Day Conference (February 2015). Sara was integral in organizing a successful day, from helping with ideas for our kid’s break-out sessions to gathering an inspiring panel of adult speakers who stutter. A person who stutters herself, Sara innately offered comfort to families that their own child can be a confident and successful communicator just like Sara-despite struggling with a stutter!
Dr. Grossman’s enlightening presentation set the stage for bountiful discussion from the parents and community SLP’s who attended. She clearly expressed the complexities associated with a stuttering diagnosis in a straight-forward manner which was appreciated by the audience. This allowed for honest discussion throughout the remainder of the conference, creating a rich and powerful day for each participant.
We were truly thrilled by the outcome of our ODC and look forward to organizing another ODC in the future!