The Friends One-Day Event is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and learn more about stuttering, supporting their child, and to begin building community. Children’s programming is activity-based and focuses on exploring attitudes and emotions, increasing understanding of stuttering, and instilling a greater sense of confidence, while making FRIENDS! SLPs and students will learn more about stuttering, current therapies, and the support available for those who stutter.

Financial assistance is available. If you would like to attend this one-day event but you are experiencing financial difficulties and find the cost prohibitive, please reach out to Nic Brow at: nic@friendswhostutter.org 

Brittany Coleman, M.S. CCC-SLP, is an experienced speech-language pathologist specializing in the evaluation and treatment of speech and language disorders across the lifespan. She spent nearly eight years at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she provided care for children with diverse communication needs. Brittany has a passion for working with individuals who stutter, which led her to her current role as a research SLP in the Department of CSD at the University of Pittsburgh.

Amanda Hampton Wray, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Innovation in the Department of Communication Science & Disorders at University of Pittsburgh. Her research program examines the development of brain functions mediating language and attention using a multimodal approach, including behavioral and neurophysiological measures, with a focus on developmental stuttering. Her work also aims to increase support for people who stutter through clinical education.

Caryn Herring, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and the Executive Director of Friends. Caryn first became involved with Friends in 2010, serving as the Board Chairperson for 5 years. Outside of Friends, Caryn is a co-PI on the HeardAI research project, making voice AI accessible to all, and has taught/clinically supervised undergraduate and graduate students at numerous universities including Michigan State University and The University of Pittsburgh.

Allison Ladavat, M.A., CCC-SLP is a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and the mother of 3 children. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA, where she provides holistic stuttering therapy to people of all ages. She has previously worked as a clinical instructor at Duquesne University. Through the Friends organization, Allison helped to develop a partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, coordinating unique experiences at each Penguins home game for local children who stutter.

Seth E. Tichenor, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and an assistant professor at Duquesne University. He directs the Life Impact Lab and his research interests include better understanding and predicting individual differences in the experience of stuttering, understanding how adverse impact related to the condition develops, and determining how moments of stuttering occur in speech. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. He practices clinically and is actively involved in clinical education regarding stuttering assessment and treatment.