Previous symposium

STUTTERING: THE FOURTH CROATIA CLINICAL SYMPOSIUM 19-22 MAY 2019

                       After attending the Fourth Croatia Clinical Symposium 78% of delegates agreed with the statement
                                                     “I will change my clinical practice after attending the Symposium.”

 

During the Fourth Croatia Clinical Symposium, world renowned master clinicians demonstrated speech-language pathology and psychological practices with children, youths, and adults. International scholars gave their view about the five most important research findings pertinent to each age group.

After the formal presentation, delegates formed small groups to discuss the content of the presentations and then met for a moderated formal discussion with the presenters.

The notion of a symposium is attributable to the Ancient Greeks. Scholars would gather for several days and share their knowledge while dining together. That is the aim for our Symposium. An event where clinicians, scholars, and researchers gather to share knowledge and engage in lively discussions with one another. Formal small group and large group discussions are facilitated by charismatic discussion leaders and moderators.

Delegate feedback tells us that they valued the opportunity to engage with leading clinicians and researchers and that it influenced their clinical practices.

A drawcard of our event is the delightful location of the Hotel Croatia, on a peninsula overlooking the Adriatic Sea on one side and the ancient Roman town of Cavtat on the other.

 

CONVENORS

Suzana Jelčić Jakšić

Suzana is a speech-language pathologist at the Children’s Hospital in Zagreb. Her research interests include the attitudes and emotions of those who stutter. She is affected by the disorder, and she founded the Croatian Association for People Who Stutter "Hinko Freund". She is a certified European Fluency Specialist.

 

Robyn Lowe

Robyn is a researcher and clinician at the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, the University of Technology Sydney. Her research interests include information processing biases and anxiety management with those who stutter. Robyn is also involved in research about telepractice, including the development of standalone Internet treatment programs.

 

Mark Onslow

Mark is the foundation Director of the Australian Stuttering Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney. His research interests are: epidemiology of early stuttering, mental health and stuttering, measurement of stuttering, and clinical trials for the disorder.

 

 

PRESENTERS

The master clinicians

                                      Ross Menzies

Ross is from the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, the University of Technology Sydney. He is a clinical psychologist with an interest in the origins and management of anxiety. He has developed cognitive behaviour therapy packages for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders, and he has published theories on the origins of phobias. Ross is a founding director of the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies.

 

Sue O’Brian

Sue is Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Stuttering Research Centre. She has many years clinical experience with adults and children who stutter. Her particular interests involve the measurement of stuttering, and research and training in the Camperdown Program for adults who stutter.

 

Rosalee Shenker

Rosalee has specialized in fluency disorders for over 40 years. She is a founding member of the Lidcombe Program Training Consortium. She coordinates clinical training for this program in North America and has provided presentations, workshops, and mentoring to over 2000 clinicians. Her most recent work deals with the treatment of bilingual children who stutter.

 

Elaine Kelman

Elaine is a consultant speech and language therapist and the head of the Michael Palin Centre where she has worked since 1986. She participates in the Centre's national and international training programmes and has presented at many international conferences. She also participates in the Centre's research programme.

 

 

The scholars

Sharon Millard

Sharon is the Research Lead and a Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London. Sharon has conducted a number of studies exploring the nature of stammering and effectiveness of interventions; and she has developed standardised parent assessment tool. She is the Co-Chair of the Oxford Dysfluency Conference. Sharon is also a lecturer at City University of London.

 

Hans-Georg Bosshardt

Hans-Georg is a retired professor of psychology at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. He was president of the International Fluency Association and has the status of an ASHA international affiliate. He has papers about how speech planning and short-term memory load affect speech fluency, laryngeal activity, and the timing of speech movement.

 

Courtney Byrd

Courtney is an Associate Professor at The University of Texas, Austin. In 2006, upon completion of two years as an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow, she joined the faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Her research interests include the study of speech-language contributions to childhood stuttering and the development of innovative treatment and clinical training tools.

 

DISCUSSION LEADERS

                                      Susan Block

Susan is a speech pathologist from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. She is responsible for the academic and clinical education undergraduate and post-graduate students. Susan has held honorary positions at several Australian institutions: the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and James Cook University. For her work in stuttering, Susan has been recognised by the Speech Pathology Association of Australia as a Fellow, and she is a Life Member of the Australian Speak Easy Association.

 

                                      Francesca del Gado

Francesca specializes in assessment and treatment of stuttering and fluency disorders for all age groups. She is a European Fluency Specialist and has participated in various national and international research projects with Professor Donatella Tomaiuoli and other colleagues. She works with those colleagues in the development of the MIDA-SP approach: the Multidimensional, Integrated, Differentiated, Art-Mediated Stuttering Program. She is also involved with the triennial International Conference on Stuttering and is in demand as a speaker at national and international conferences.

 

                                      Marie-Christine Franken

Marie-Christine has worked for more than 25 years combining clinical work, research, and teaching in stuttering and speech disorders. She has supervised more than 20 Masters students and four PhD students. Currently, she is the principal paediatric speech-language researcher and clinical linguist at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. She strives to contribute to the global knowledge base regarding stuttering, speech disorders, and the treatment outcome for these disorders. She is frequently invited as a speaker at international conferences and workshops, and has published in scientific journals.

 

                                      Valerie Lim

Valerie worked as a senior principal speech-language pathologist at the Singapore General Hospital for 16 years before moving to private practice. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the field of stuttering and has successfully treated many children who stutter. She continues to teach stuttering at the National University of Singapore. Her research interests include assessment and treatment of bilinguals who stutter, and she has scientific journal and textbook publications in those areas. She continues to supervise students clinically and in research projects.

 

                                      Sabine Van Eerdenbrugh

Sabine is currently a researcher and teacher at the Thomas More University College in Antwerp, Belgium. During her PhD she was involved with the development of the Internet version of the Lidcombe Program and continues research about that treatment method. Sabine specialises in stuttering but has treated children and adolescents with a variety of speech and language disorders for many years. She is a member of the Lidcombe Program Trainers Consortium.

 

                                      Martine Vanryckeghem

Martine is a professor at the University of Central Florida, ASHA fellow, a Board-Certified Fluency Specialist, and a European Fluency Specialist. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has given workshops internationally about assessment, differential diagnosis, and treatment of those who stutter.  She is the co-author of the Behavior Assessment Battery for Children and Adults who Stutter and the KiddyCAT. She received ASHA’s Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contribution in International Achievement. She has been a guest professor at the University of Gent, Belgium, and the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Martine has served as managing editor of the Journal of Fluency Disorders.