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Have You Ever Thought About Your “O.Q?”

Introduction

Individuals who stutter face daily communication challenges and barriers that others who are fluent cannot relate to or even comprehend. For the stutterer, the speech condition is unpredictable and can have detrimental effects on job opportunities, social interactions and educational attainment.

Dr. Ron Webster
HCRI President Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D. discusses the O.Q. for persons who stutter.

Many who stutter have tried traditional speech therapies with minimal or fleeting fluency outcomes. This propels the ongoing frustration inherent to the condition and the barriers it produces.

In this article, stuttering expert Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D., president of Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI), shares a thought-provoking way to view stuttering and its effect on an individual’s life.

In addition, he discusses why people who stutter should consider HCRI’s behavioral-therapy approach that teaches life-long skills to control stuttering and speak fluently.

Considering Your O.Q.

Have you ever thought about your O.Q?  Well, you ask, what is an O.Q?

OQYour O.Q. is your life Opportunity Quotient. We all have opportunities come along in our lives. Some of us are in a position to be better at generating, recognizing and taking advantage of those opportunities than others.

If you stutter, the odds are that you have a lower O.Q. than you would if you did not stutter. Virtually everyone who stutters at more than a mild level will experience shrinkage in his or her O.Q.

The reason is simple. Many businesses, educational situations and social environments are not accepting of the communication challenges of persons who stutter. The result is an automatic and persistence of O.Q. shrinkage.

Like it or not, if you stutter you have probably experienced O.Q. restrictions as a result of your disfluent speech.

Here at HCRI we specialize in treating individuals who stutter with proprietary procedures we have developed that generate robust, fluent speech in our clients. In fact, our research shows that by end of our intensive 12-day program, 93% of our clients have become fluent speakers. And, at two years post-therapy, 75% retain fluent speech.

These results have been repeated at HCRI time and time again with more than 6,500 individuals. Note that number. It represents real people who made the commitment to attend therapy at HCRI in Roanoke, Virginia. These are individuals who experienced genuine improvements in their speech fluency and in their O.Q.s.

Take for example Scott Nickell, who is now a business development manager for a leading distribution company. His success depends on his ability to effectively communicate with decisionmakers. As a person who stutters, Scott found his speech hindering when he was young. He couldn’t say certain words and struggled to communicate each day. His education and social life were challenging and his self-confidence compromised. Yet, once he attended HCRI stuttering therapy as a young adult, he acquired the ability to use the skills he learned to generate fluent speech. As a result, Scott was able to pursue his career ambitions with joy and confidence.

Another example is producer and filmmaker Elan Dassani. He participated in HCRI stuttering therapy to succeed in an industry where talk is everything. Yet, when he was younger, his speech was characterized by intermittent blocks, repetitions and prolongations of sounds and syllables, which made it difficult to carry on conversations. To fix his stutter, he originally tried different treatments that ranged from wearing an auditory feedback device to meeting with speech therapists. None produced lasting fluency – until he came to HCRI’s 12-day stuttering therapy.

Each individual has his or her own unique challenges with stuttering. Our research and real-world experience has demonstrated that HCRI stuttering therapy is effective across a range of stuttering severities from mild to severe.

If you are looking for help with your stuttering and want to optimize your O.Q. through fluency, consider HCRI stuttering therapy. To learn more, visit www.stuttering.org or contact us at (540) 265-5650 or info@stuttering.org.

View before-and-after stuttering therapy videos >>

Apply today to attend HCRI stuttering therapy >>

 

HCRI Alumni: Do you need to get your fluency skills back on track?

Join us for an HCRI Alumni Refresher or Target Tune-up before the end of 2018

HCRI Stuttering Therapy Headquarters
HCRI headquarters is in Roanoke, Virginia.

If you want to work on your fluency skills and build speaking confidence before the end of the year, we encourage you to participate in one of our upcoming Alumni Refresher or Target Tune-up programs. You will find these HCRI alumni programs productive and beneficial.

Alumni Refresher
October 22-26 or December 10-14

During this five-day refresher, you will join other HCRI alumni and engage in an in-depth review of the fluency skills taught during the institute’s 12-day stuttering therapy. Led by HCRI’s skilled clinicians, this program is designed to help you recapture the ability to control your stuttering and speak fluently in everyday situations.

Target Tune-up
December 17-19

HCRI’s Target Tune-up runs two and a half days and focuses on finessing target production to optimize your fluency. You will work on your speech in HCRI’s small group setting and benefit from one-on-one clinician support.

There are a limited number of spots for these program dates. Therefore, please contact us right away if you are interested in participating.

Next Steps

Holly Humphreys
HCRI Clinical Supervisor Holly Humphreys

To determine which alumni program is best suited to your needs, contact Clinical Supervisor Holly Humphreys at 540-265-5659 or holly@stuttering.org.

Holly will also assist you with registration and answer any questions you have. We look forward to welcoming you back to HCRI.

If you have not attended HCRI stuttering therapy and would like to learn more, please contact us at (540) 265-5650 or info@stuttering.org.  We also encourage you to visit us at www.stuttering.org to learn about our science-based approach to stuttering therapy, see therapy outcomes, and watch before-and-after videos.

HCRI Receives Major Gift for Stuttering Therapy Scholarships

National Business Leader Sander A. Flaum Donates $100,000 to HCRI to Help Individuals Attend Life-Changing Stuttering Therapy

Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI), an international stuttering research and therapy center headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, received a $100,000 gift from Sander A. Flaum, principal of New York-based Flaum Navigators. Flaum is a sought-after leadership consultant, business speaker, best-selling author, adjunct professor at Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, and host of a weekly radio show.

Sander A. Flaum
Sander A. Flaum

Flaum has been an ardent supporter of HCRI through the years. The institute is a 45-year-old nonprofit organization led by Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D. Webster and his research scientists invented the first science-based, behavioral therapy for stuttering that imparts life-long fluency skills.

Continually enhanced with the latest research and treatment technology, HCRI’s 12-day program delivers among the highest documented fluency outcomes for stuttering therapy.

Flaum’s gift will be used over the next ten years for HCRI stuttering therapy scholarships to help individuals with financial challenges attend the institute’s stuttering treatment program.

“Sander’s support of HCRI through the years, including this latest gift, makes life-changing therapy accessible for those who struggle with stuttering,” Webster said. “His generosity directly impacts lives by enabling individuals to participate in HCRI stuttering therapy and realize their full potential through fluency.”

Flaum has spent his career leading and motivating businesses to excel and is recognized as one of the “100 Most Inspiring People” by PharmaVoice. He travels the country to meet with heads of business, conduct marketing workshops, and speak at conferences and college commencements. Yet, with his impressive public persona, no one would know that Flaum has struggled with stuttering since the age of five. In fact, his stuttering has been among his biggest barriers to overcome in life.

As a child, Flaum’s stuttered speech inhibited his ability to speak freely and express himself. Despite trying traditional speech therapy, as he got older his stuttering became increasingly pervasive, affecting him personally and professionally.

“People thought I was less intelligent or had mental deficiencies because I stuttered,” Flaum said. “There is a tremendous amount of ignorance and misconceptions that surround stuttering.”

While enduring ridicule and often being overlooked because of his stuttering, Flaum continued to push forward to achieve his goals. He was inspired by his encouraging mother who told him that “you have to work harder and smarter” to succeed as a stutterer.

When Flaum was in his early thirties, he heard about the advanced stuttering therapy at HCRI. He enrolled in the treatment program and found the experience to be transforming. Flaum learned new ways to use his speech muscles to control his stuttering and speak fluently at will. After he returned home, Flaum regularly practiced the skills he learned at HCRI to habituate his newly acquired fluency. The ability to speak fluently changed his life and enabled the business executive to realize his career goals.

After his experience with HCRI, Flaum became an advocate for others who stutter and made a commitment to make effective stuttering therapy more accessible. He started the Rose Flaum Foundation, named for his mother, to fund stuttering therapy scholarships to help individuals attend HCRI therapy.

According to Flaum, “Most stutterers go through a lot of adversity. The key is to not let it get to you. Instead, you have to work harder and smarter, as my mother always said. For me, giving my all and HCRI stuttering therapy made the difference.”

Working harder and smarter has become Flaum’s beacon for all aspects of his life. It has served him well and he uses it to inspire others.

About HCRI

HCRI was founded by Ronald L Webster, Ph.D. in 1972 to investigate stuttering through scientific discovery and treatment innovation. Virginia-based HCRI, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, has become an international leader in stuttering research and the development of scientifically derived therapy approaches.

More than 6,500 people from across the U.S. and 50 countries have come to HCRI for stuttering treatment. Clients come from all walks of life and include teachers, business professionals, athletes, broadcasters, engineers, musicians, students, doctors, military personnel, police officers, actors, a Supreme Court nominee, and even royalty.

HCRI is located at 7851 Enon Drive, Roanoke, Va. 24019. For more information, visit www.stuttering.org or contact HCRI at (540) 265-5650.

How You Can Donate

HCRI depends on gifts of all amounts from HCRI alumni and friends to continue operations and make therapy accessible to individuals who stutter. Gifts small and large will make a difference in the nonprofit center’s ability to help those who stutter transform their lives through fluency.  Please donate at stuttering.org/donate.php. All gifts are tax deductible.

HCRI News and Happenings

This year has been exhilarating for our nonprofit institute. In addition to treating a growing number of stuttering therapy clients, our team at Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) has been hard at work testing a new service offering and developing more treatment innovations that advance fluency outcomes. Following is an overview of HCRI news and activities.

 

New Therapy Release

In August, we launched a new “high definition” version of our stuttering therapy program. This new release elevates HCRI treatment to an unprecedented level of precision and ease with which fluency can be learned. For details, click here: Hollins Fluency System III.

Pilot Training Program for Parents of Children who Stutter

parentschildTo address growing demand, we are testing a new service designed to teach parents of young children who stutter how to effectively work with their sons and daughters to promote fluent speech.

This training initiative involves a series of individualized sessions with parents and kids at HCRI. Over two and a half days, we impart specialized speech techniques and exercises that parents can put into practice with their children when they return home. Then, we follow-up with the parents to monitor progress. More testing and refining will continue over the coming months and into 2017.

Remote-Access Therapy Testing

remotetherapyTrials continue to determine the viability of offering remote-access, quality-controlled alumni refresher programs via the web using an iPad, computer or late-model iPhone. The use of Bluetooth headsets with these devices facilitates instruction, speech measurement and fluency progress.

Current findings show great promise. Our goal is to be able to offer refreshers – and ultimately the HCRI stuttering therapy program – to anyone, anywhere who has a device and internet connection.

Multi-Dimensional, Automated Speech Measurement

stuttering speech measurementOur team is developing new technology that automates the measurement of speech at a level of detail that enables us to better examine how stuttering is physically differentiated from fluent speech.

As we develop this new system, we will evaluate how well we can use objectively extracted acoustic features to assist in improving the diagnosis and treatment of stuttering. Our early work is encouraging. We are continuing our efforts to reach the stage where practical clinical benefits can be achieved.

 

At HCRI, we continue to push forward advancing stuttering treatment and helping people from across the U.S. and worldwide achieve their full potential in life through fluency. It is a privilege and a pleasure to serve our clients and alumni on an ongoing basis.

We are always here for you and encourage you to reach out if you need assistance, have questions or want to connect for any reason. Contact us at info@stuttering.org or (540) 265-5650.

Dr. Ron Webster’s Pioneering Work in Stuttering

A Career Dedicated to Helping People Who Stutter Achieve Fluency

Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D.

Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D., Founder and President of Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) observed stuttering for the first time when he was a graduate student at Louisiana State University. One of his professors stuttered. Webster was moved by this impressive man’s courage to face students and lecture each day, despite having a speech disorder.

After graduate school, Webster began a multi-dimensional career as a research scientist, psychology professor and clinical psychologist. At the same time, he pursued his keen interest in the study of speech. Webster conducted research on speech development and collaborated with speech experts from across the country.

This work led him to a passionate concern about stuttering and the realization that no effective treatment existed to help people with the disorder. Webster set out to change that. The year was 1966. He began a life-long mission to investigate stuttering using empirical science and learn everything he could about the difficult-to-treat and misunderstood condition.

His intensive research revealed remarkable findings, which countered broadly accepted assumptions that stuttering was grounded in emotional or mental issues. Instead, Webster’s work demonstrated that stuttering is physically derived, with specific, distorted speech-muscle activities and patterns that give rise to stuttering.

WSLS News Segment - Dr. Ron Webster
WSLS-TV reporter interviews Dr. Ron Webster about his pioneering work in stuttering and the science-based stuttering therapy program at his nonprofit Hollins Communications Research Institute.

Once he quantitatively defined speech-muscle “events” that cause stuttering, Webster’s research efforts turned to identifying ways to alter these events to enable fluent speech.

Webster’s work was groundbreaking. The outcomes led to his developing the first systematic, behavioral stuttering therapy program. He founded nonprofit Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) in 1972 to continue his research and administer effective, science-based stuttering therapy.

HCRI’s 12-day stuttering treatment program teaches individuals how to replace faulty speech muscle movements that cause stuttering with new muscle events that generate fluent speech. Research shows 93% of program participants achieve fluency by the end of treatment. Follow-up studies reveal 70% to 75% retain fluent speech when evaluated one and two years post therapy. ​These outcomes stand in contrast to traditional speech therapies and devices that may only produce fluency results in approximately 25% of cases.

Webster and his HCRI team continually enhance the Institute’s quality-controlled therapy program, based on the latest research findings and technology. To make fluency acquisition easier and long lasting for clients, they have:

  • Increased the specificity of treatment protocols
  • Invented electronic speech measurement systems for use in therapy
  • Integrated the use of computers into the therapy process
  • Developed a 500-hour HCRI clinician certification program
  • Incorporated quality controls into treatment
  • Created a sophisticated “therapist in your pocket” app

These ongoing advancements raise the bar on stuttering treatment excellence. U.S. patents have been awarded to Webster for some of these stuttering therapy innovations. 

Since HCRI opened its doors, more than 6,500 people from across the U.S. and 50 countries have come to the Virginia-based treatment center.​ Clients include broadcaster John Stossel of Fox News; Annie Glenn, wife of Senator and Astronaut John Glenn; as well as athletes, teachers, engineers, students, doctors, military personnel, business professionals, police officers, actors, a Supreme Court nominee and even royalty.

Dr. Webster and the HCRI team continue to push forward with their commitment to transforming lives through fluency. This includes testing the feasibility of online therapy delivery to increase accessibility, as well as partnering with the National Institutes of Health on a pioneering study that confirmed a genetic link to stuttering.

For more information about HCRI stuttering therapy, please visit www.stuttering.org. Contact HCRI at (540) 265-5650 or info@stuttering.org.

 

HCRI’s Inaugural 5K Race Filled with Enthusiam and Friendly Competition

Alumni of the Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) stuttering therapy program, along with Roanoke-area runners, participated in the nonprofit center’s first 5K Race and 1-Mile Fun Walk – Stride to Cure Stuttering – on Saturday, April 30, 2016.

StridetoCureStuttering1temp1The event was held on the beautiful Roanoke River Greenway in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia. Stride to Cure Stuttering helped raise much-needed funds to support HCRI’s ongoing work in stuttering research and treatment innovation.

The Institute was founded in 1972 by Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D. to investigate stuttering and develop new therapy approaches for the difficult-to-treat speech disorder. Today, HCRI is a leader in science-based stuttering treatment and has helped thousands of people who stutter from across the U.S. and 50 countries.

Donations raised from Stride to Cure Stuttering will further HCRI’s important work of making life-changing stuttering therapy  more accessible and continuing research to find a cure for stuttering.

The race director and organizer was Courtney Stackhouse who also serves as a stuttering therapy clinician at HCRI. Forty-two competitors ran in the inaugural race, along with numerous others who participated in the event’s 1-Mile Fun Walk to help HCRI.

Following are the racers who clocked the fastest times for the 5K run.

  • Jonathan Seidel – 16:33.28
  • Joel Hanlon – 17:50.81
  • Colin Munsey – 17:58.32

EVENT PHOTOS

HCRI Stride to Cure StutteringHCRI Stride to Cure Stuttering

HCRI Stride to Cure StutteringHCRI Stride to Cure StutteringHCRI Stride to Cure StutteringHCRI Stride to Cure Stuttering