With the support of the Socrates Programme of the European Union
Staff
Joseph Agius
Affiliation: University of Malta
Mail: joseph.g.agius@um.edu.mt
CV: Joseph Agius is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Fluency Specialist. He holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Speech and Language Studies from Trinity College, University of Dublin and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Sheffield. Dr Agius has an extensive background in training, lecturing, evaluation, facilitation and program management. Principal of the Speech Language Department and employed by the Health Division, Government of Malta, he is co-responsible for the management, assessment and treatment services of communication disorders in Malta and Gozo. He lectures at the University of Malta on ‘Fluency Disorders' and ‘Language and Psychiatry'. He is also author of the iOS application 'Fluency SIS- Smart Intervention Strategy' for school age children who stutter.
Armin Bings
Affiliation: RWTH Aachen University.
Mail: bings@sprachlotse-grevenbroich.de
Armin Bings received his education as an SLT at Werner-Otto-Institut (Hamburg) until 1996. He has been working as a clinician in his own practice since 1999, focusing on fluency disorders and working according to non-avoidance approaches. Alongside his clinical work, he took several trainings in the field of fluency disorders, including KIDS, Mini-KIDS, Camperdown method and Palin Parent-Child-Interaction. Since 2016, he holds a B.Sc. in Applied Therapy Science (Hochschule Fresenius) and is an ECSF graduate (Course Cycle 2020/21).
Anne Breda
Affiliation: Artevelde University College
Mail: anne.breda@arteveldehs.be
CV: Anne Breda worked as a fluency specialist for 35 years, specialised in working with families. She is a former guest lecturer in the Postgraduate Program on Fluency Disorders at the U College Artevelde in Ghent, Belgium. She works as a lecturer and is a trainer in the Postgraduate Program ‘Coaching and Inspiring' in the same University College. She specialized, in addition to fluency disorders, as a ‘Systemic psychotherapist, Solution-Focused Therapy' (Bruges, Korzybski Institute, 2005), ‘Postgraduate program Mindfulnesstrainer' (U College Artevelde, 2011) and ‘Coach, Coaching & Inspiring' (U College Artevelde, 2012). She introduced the coaching role of the SLT in the curriculum of the Speech & Language Bachelor at the U College Artevelde. She organised clinical intervision for fluency specialists in the same U college. She is organizing a mindfulnessbased ‘Mild for Stress' program for colleagues since 2014 (The Academy, U college Artevelde). She coaches individuals, teams and organisations and supervises intervision sessions in the working field.
Courtney Byrd
Affiliation: University of Texas at Austin
Mail: courtney.byrd@austin.utexas.edu
CV: Courtney T. Byrd is a an Associate Chair, Graduate Advisor, and Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin. She completed her doctoral studies under the mentorship of Dr. Edward Conture at Vanderbilt University. 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. Her research lab received an endowment in 2012 and was renamed the Dr. Jennifer and Emanuel Bodner Developmental Stuttering Lab. In 2014, The Michael and Tami Lang Stuttering Institute was established as a distinct endowed institute dedicated to excellence in clinical research for which Dr. Byrd serves as Founding Director. She also serves as Vice President of Education for The Stuttering Foundation. Dr. Byrd has published her research in a variety of journals. She has also published several book chapters and presented her research nationally and internationally. Additionally, Dr. Byrd is a recipient of the Moody College of Communication Teaching Excellence Award, the Texas Exes Teaching Award, the Office of the Dean of Students Outstanding Advisor Award, the UT System Wide Regents Award for Outstanding Teaching, the President's Associates Award, the Friar Centennial Teaching Fellowship, and the William David Blunk Memorial Professorship. Byrd is also a Provost's Teaching Fellow and was conferred membership in The Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
Jaqueline Carmona
Affiliation: ESSA Health School in Higher Education at Alcoitão
Mail: jaqueline.carmona@essa.scml.pt
CV: Jaqueline Carmona works as a lecturer in fluency disorders at the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Health School in Higher Education at Acoitão which she combines with her clinical work. Clinically she focuses on screening, diagnosis, and treatment of Stuttering and Cluttering, Speech Sound Disorders and Specific Language Impairment. She also coordinates and gives workshops on fluency disorders for SLT's, and also for other professionals: teacher's, kindergarten educators among others.
Luc De Nil
Affiliation: University of Leuven & University of Toronto
Mail: luc.denil@utoronto.ca
CV: Luc F. De Nil is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. He is a Senior Scientist at the Toronto Western Research Institute, an Adjunct Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). He currently is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Communication Disorders. His research interests include using behavioural testing and neuroimaging to study the neural mechanism underlying speech fluency, specifically developmental stuttering, acquired adult-onset stuttering, and Tourette's syndrome.
Francesca Del Gado
Affiliation: Sapienza University of Rome, CRC Italy
Mail: f.delgado@crc-balbuzie.it
CV: Speech therapist, Fluency specialist (ECSF graduated). Specialized in the evaluation and rehabilitative treatment of stuttering and verbal fluency disorders for all age groups. Lecturer on Stuttering in "Sapienza University of Rome. She has participated in various national and international research projects with the working group of Prof. Donatella Tomaiuoli in the field of assessment and treatment of verbal flu disorders, collaborating in the development of a MIDA-SP rehabilitation program. She collaborates with the organization of the ICOS International Conference on Stuttering. She carries out training activities and is a speaker at national and international conferences on the rehabilitation of verbal fluency disorders.
Kurt Eggers
Affiliation: Ghent University - Thomas More - Turku University
Mail: kurt.eggers@thomasmore.be
CV: Kurt Eggers holds a BA in Medicine, MA in SLT, and a PhD. in both Biomedical Sciences and Developmental Psychology. He is professor at Ghent U, Thomas More (Belgium), and Turku U (Finland). He is ECSF Chair, IFA President, EFS board member, and IALP fluency committee member. He has lectured/published nationally and internationally on fluency disorders and his research focuses on the role of temperament & attentional processes in stuttering, normal speech disfluencies, and disfluencies in different populations.
George Fourlas
Affiliation: Stuttering Research and Therapy Centre (ΚΕΘΤ) in Athens, Greece
Mail: gfourlas@logosinstitute.gr
CV: George Fourlas holds a degree in Education (Athens), a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology (University College Cardiff) and a M.Sc in Clinical Communication Studies (SLT) (City University, London). He is a Speech and Language Therapist, head of the Stuttering Research and Therapy Centre (ΚΕΘΤ) in Athens, Greece. He is involved in clinical work, clinical supervision, mentoring and teaching. He has contributed in the development of therapy programmes for children and adults who stutter in Greek language. He is co-author of the Lexipontix programme. He has published papers and chapters in books and has given presentations in national and international conferences and workshops. He is a member of the Fluency Committee of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) and was the coordinator of the Special Interest Group in Fluency Disorders of the Panhellenic Association of Logopedists-Speech Therapists from 2008 until 2015.
Marie-Christine Franken
Affiliation: Erasmus MC - University Medical Hospital Rotterdam
Mail: m.franken@erasmusmc.nl
CV: Marie-Christine Franken holds a MA in Linguistics (1985), certified as a Speech-Language Pathologist (1989), and finished her PhD in Medical Sciences (1997). From 1985 to 1994 she worked as a clinical researcher in stuttering at the University Medical Centre St Radboud Nijmegen, NL, and specialised as a Fluency Expert. In 1994 she moved to Erasmus University Medical Centre, Sophia's Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, NL. Shecombines academic clinical work and speech and language research. Her areas of clinical expertise are stutteringin pre-schoolers and speech sound disorders in children. Her research is
focused on treatment evaluation. She is an Associate Editor of the Journal ofFluency Disorders.
Elaine Kelman
Affiliation: Michael Palin Centre
Mail: elainekelman@nhs.net
CV: Elaine Kelman is the head of the Michael Palin Centre and a consultant speech and language therapist. She has a masters degree in Human Communication and a certificate in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. She has contributed to the development of the various therapy programmes for children who stammer at the Michael Palin Centre, particularly the management of early childhood stammering. She has published a number of papers, chapters and books, including the Palin Parent-Child Interaction Therapy manual. She participates in the Centre's national and international training programme, has been invited to present at international conferences and she participates in the Centre's research programme. She is a RCSLT Adviser for Fluency Disorders and is past President of the International Fluency Association.
Margaret Leahy
Affiliation: Trinity College Dublin
Mail: mleahy@tcd.ie
CV: Margaret M. Leahy holds Master in Science (M.Sc.) and Master in Letters (M.Litt) degrees. She has been a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Clinical Tutor, Associate Professor, and Director, and Head of Discipline, Clinical Speech & Language Studies, Trinity College, Dublin. She has numerous publications regarding Fluency Disorders and Clinical Education in international topic-related journals and was also the president of the International Fluency Association (IFA) from 2002 until 2005. Margaret was awarded Fellowship of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA; 2013), and she is a founder member of ECSF, and serves on its Steering Committee.
Mark Meersman
Mail: mark.meersman@thomasmore.be
CV: Mark Meersman is a Bachelor of Speech therapy and Audiology (Thomas More U College) and M Sc in Clinical Language, Speech and
Hearing Sciences (Utrecht University). He lectures in fluency disorders, articulation disorders, methodology of speech therapy and behaviour analysis, and was a co-coordinator of the Postgraduate Course in Fluency Disorders at Thomas More U College. He specialised in Fluency and Voice disorders and has extensive clinical experience in fluency disorders. He is a former guest lecturer in Postgraduate Program on Fluency Disorders at Artevelde College Ghent, and in the Specialisation Course on Stuttering Therapy. He published various articles and gave lectures on the treatment of fluency disorders.
Mark Pertijs
Affiliation: The Dutch Association of Stuttering Therapy
Mail: m.pertijs@gbrzorg.nl
CV: . Mark Pertijs holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Language, Speech and Hearing Sciences. He was a lecturer in fluency disorders at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences for nearly 30 years. As a speech and language therapist he has extensive experience in working with persons who stutter. He was involved in the development and implementation of the Dutch "Evidence-based guideline developmental stuttering in children and adults" in cooperation with the CBO Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He is a member of the European Fluency Specialists board and represents the interests of the Dutch Association of Stuttering Therapy (NVST) in ECSF.
Donattela Tomaiuoli
Affiliation: RSapienza University of Rome, Tor Vergata University of Rome, CRC Italy
Mail: pjd.tomaiuoli@crc-balbuzie.it
CV: Donatella Tomaiuoli, Speech therapist and Psychopedagogist, is an expert in the treatment of Language Disorders. Specialized in the assessment and treatment of stuttering, she developed and adopted a specific integrated program (MIDA-SP). She is the founder and the Director of the C.R.C. Center for Research and Care of Rome, senior Lecturer at Sapienza University of Rome and at Tor Vergata University of Rome. She is speaker at national and international scientific congresses and author and co-author of several publications on stuttering treatment.
Martine Vanryckeghem
Affiliation: The University of Central Florida
Mail: martinev@ucf.edu
CV: Martine Vanryckeghem received her MS and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University after having worked for 12 years as a speech-language pathologist in Belgium. Dr. Vanryckeghem, who is a Pegasus Professor at the University of Central Florida, is an ASHA fellow, and a Board Certified Fluency Specialist. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has given workshops, internationally, with respect to evidence-based assessment and treatment of children and adults whose fluency is problematic. For her international endeavors, Prof. Vanryckeghem received ASHA's Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contribution in International Achievement. From 1990 until 2000, she was managing editor of the Journal of Fluency Disorders and is currently on the editorial board of several professional journals. Dr. Vanryckeghem is on the Scientific Board of different internationally-based organizations and serves as a consultant to clinicians and students.
Veerle Waelkens
Affiliation: Artevelde University College
Mail: veerle.waelkens@arteveldehs.be
CV: Veerle Waelkens (Arteveldehogeschool Ghent) is a Bachelor in Speech therapy and Audiology (1989, Arteveldehogeschool Ghent). She specialised in fluency disorders at the Arteveldehogeschool and has since attended workshops by several authorities in the field of fluency disorders.She works as a lecturer in speech-fluency disorders and speech and Language disorders at the Arteveldehogeschool and in her private practice where she focuses on screening, diagnosis and treatment of stuttering, cluttering and and different disorders that effect the clients self-esteem, social aspects of communication (dysphasia, dyspraxia, speech anxiety,...). She is also the co-ordinator of a stuttering-treatment team that consults, counsels, trains and supports family-members and other communication-partners (Individual counselling and parental group sessions, program for teachers). Acts as a facilitator of and takes part in several intervisiongroups according to the ‘Incident method'. The intervision focusses on fluency.
Katarzyna Węsierska
Affiliation: University of Silesia
Mail: katarzyna.wesierska@us.edu.pl
CV: Katarzyna Węsierska is an assistant professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland and the founder and a speech-language therapists at the Logopedic Centre in Katowice. In her research and clinical practice, she focuses mainly on fluency disorders. She coordinates a self-help group for people who stutter and/or clutter at the University of Silesia. She was the first Polish graduate of the European Clinical Specialization in Fluency Disorders (ECSF). She is accredited by the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London to train Polish SLTs to use the Palin Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Children under Seven Who Stammer. She cooperates with international organizations and researchers from different countries to disseminate knowledge and change social attitudes towards fluency disorders. Dr. Węsierska co-organizes the International Conference of Logopedics entitled Fluency Disorders: Theory and Practice at the University of Silesia in Poland. She is the secretary of the International Cluttering Association (ICA) and the editor of the ICA newsletter. At the 11th Oxford Dysfluency Conference (2017, Oxford, UK) she was awarded the David Rowley Award for International Initiatives in Stuttering.