A Big Tent for Those Seeking Help

INTERNATIONAL STUTTERING AWARENESS DAY 2025

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- October 22^nd marks International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD). Stuttering affects an estimated one percent of the world's population—that's more that 80 million people worldwide, and more than three million Americans.

Since its inception in 1947, the Stuttering Foundation's mission has remained unchanged: providing trusted information about stuttering and its treatment, bringing public attention to the stuttering community, training the next generation of SLPs who work in the clinical setting, funding research into the causes and treatment of stuttering, and providing help to all those who seek it.

"We provide a 'Big Tent' for those seeking information and assistance," said Stuttering Foundation President, Jane Fraser. "We learned long ago that there isn't a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to treatment for those who stutter. We lean on the foundational work of Charles Van Riper, Dean Williams, Joseph Sheehan, Malcolm Fraser, and many more. And we delve into contemporary approaches championed by today's leading experts who facilitate our workshops, speak at conferences, write for our magazine, appear on our podcasts, and lead our CEUs and Virtual Learning sessions. All along, we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to reach those who seek help and to raise awareness of stuttering."

The Foundation held its first conference in 1957 to bring together eminent speech pathologists and authorities in psychology, psychiatry, and even cultural anthropology for a week of discussions to see if they could agree upon general guidelines for a comprehensive program on stuttering. This was the first opportunity these professionals had to confer as a group for such an extended period of time.

The conference resulted in a book, On Stuttering: Its Treatment. This was no small feat considering the disagreements and diversity of thought among authorities at that time. Since then, the organization has sponsored many such forums during which leading speech pathology professionals have shared ideas. These week-long conferences have been critical in working toward agreement concerning therapy techniques. Through the years, Stuttering Foundation books have been translated into more than 45 foreign languages and have reached more than 20 million people.

"Since we began, there has been disagreement and debate about the best way to treat those who stutter," added Fraser. "That may never change. However, at the Stuttering Foundation, we understand that no two people stutter in the same way, and their goals may vary."

For more than 75 years, the Stuttering Foundation, the oldest and largest charitable nonprofit organization in the world working toward the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering, reaches over a million people in more than 168 countries annually with help and resources.

About the Stuttering Foundation

Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who struggled with stuttering, established the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947 and endowed it throughout his lifetime. The Foundation provides free online resources at StutteringHelp.org for people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

SOURCE The Stuttering Foundation