National Stuttering Association

Alternate Name / Acronym

NSA; WeStutter

Options: Vision, Mission and/or Purpose of Organization

The National Stuttering Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing hope and empowerment to children and adults who stutter, their families, and professionals through support, education, advocacy, and research.

The vision of the National Stuttering Association is to build on our position as the preeminent organization for supporting people who stutter. We will take a leadership role in shaping the way stuttering is viewed and treated, and will be a leading provider of education and information on stuttering. The NSA will expand our support to people who stutter through local chapters, advocacy, educational training, family programs, and publications. We will be a catalyst for research into effective treatment for stuttering while encouraging the search for its cause and cure.

Overview
The NSA provides support, friendship, and information to the stuttering community, instilling the sense of self-worth so often missing in the lives of those who battle this disorder. With members nationwide and over 100 self-help support groups in the United States, the NSA provides information about stuttering, increases public awareness of stuttering, serves as a support and advocacy group, and is a referral organization for speech therapy sources throughout the United States. Our support groups provide attendees with the opportunity to share fears, frustrations, and triumphs; practice therapeutic techniques to help control stuttering in a safe and supportive environment; engage in speaking experiences they might shy away from in their daily lives; and, perhaps most importantly, assist others in achieving these goals.

As a consumer-run organization, the NSA provides education and training to children and adults who stutter, parents, professionals, and the general public in an outgoing effort to increase understanding for the communication disorder of stuttering. The NSA has become a valuable resource for speech-language pathologists with information about how to increase the effectiveness of speech therapy in the schools. For example, the NSA’s successful school in-service program has provided education and resources to school-based speech therapists and educators at the local and national level since 1989. Funded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2000, this rewarding program partnered NSA members with children who stutter and their parents so they could share first-hand experiences about the effects stuttering has had on their lives.

History of Organization:

The National Stuttering Association (originally called the National Stuttering Project, or NSP) was founded in California in January of 1977 by Bob Goldman and Michael Sugarman.

Early efforts of the organization focused on its community outreach program. Through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), advertisements in local newspapers, and appearances on local radio and television shows, the first members worked to spread the word about stuttering and about the new organization for people who stutter or stammer.

One of the group’s most important early projects was to establish local self-help groups across California and today, the NSA has more than 125 local support-group chapters nationwide.

In 1988, thanks to the advocacy of a group of members and their local representatives, the President of the United States signed a proclamation establishing the second week of May as National Stuttering Awareness Week. Later, the organization declared 1996 the Year of the Child Who Stutters, and hosted symposia around the country focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of young people who stutter. In 2001, the NSA hosted the first joint symposium for scientists and consumers: Pioneering Stuttering Research in the 21st Century. This meeting focused on building partnerships and fostering collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and people who stutter, to address research needs in the field of stuttering and stuttering treatments.

The NSA’s history reflects an unwavering commitment to helping adults and children who stutter, their families and the clinicians who serve them. The organization’s history of growth shows the success of its mission, outreach programs and message of hope, dignity, support, education and empowerment for children and adults who stutter, their families, and the professional community.

Legal Structure

Authority

Leadership

Contact Information

Contact Person(s)

Name* Title/Description (Intake Specialist, Secretary, etc.) Phone Number 1 Phone Number 2 Fax Number Email Address
Tammy Flores Executive Director 800-937-8888 Info@WeStutter.org

Contact Phone Numbers

Number* Title / Description (Telephone, Toll free, Fax, etc.)
1.800.WE STUTTER

Contact Emails

Email* Title / Description (Director, General, Intake, etc.)
Info@WeSutter.org

Web Addresses

Website* Title / Description (National, Local office, etc.)
www.WeStutter.org/

Primary Address

Title/Description (Corporate office, Headquarters, etc.)

National Stuttering Association

Address:

3285-B Richmond Avenue
#119
Staten Island, New York 10312
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Services Provided

Thank You To Our Sponsors

We are grateful to our many partners who provide financial and operational support. 

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