Multifaceted Stuttering Therapy for Adults and Adolescents Who Stutter

The cornerstone of the services for people who stutter is the Multifaceted Stuttering Therapy for Adolescents who Stutter. This therapy program includes an intensive and follow-up portion to therapy and is offered through the Speech and Hearing Clinic at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). The therapy helps individuals who stutter find better ways to cope with their stuttering. The clinic is directed by Rodney M. Gabel, Ph.D. (Send E-mail). Dr. Gabel is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist and a Board-Recognized Specialist in Fluency and Fluency Disorders. In addition, the staff of the clinic includes speech-language pathologists and graduate students in communication disorders who are studying to become speech-language pathologists. The therapy is offered through an intensive and follow-up phase.

Intensive Clinic

The purpose of this intensive clinic is to help adolescents and adults who stutter (13 and older) to develop positive coping strategies for dealing with stuttering. Participants will increase their understanding of stuttering and learn to communicate effectively. They will learn to eliminate their maladaptive reactions to stuttering and reduce their stuttering severity. This clinic is for individuals who are willing to invest a significant amount of time and energy to make meaningful changes in their speech and their lives.

This 8-day clinic will be one of very few intensive clinics that are offered throughout the country. The 2009 clinic will run from June 13^th through June 20^th. The cost is $2,350 for the entire clinic. This fee includes the price of all therapy, housing, and food for the entire intensive portion of the clinic. This low price is available due to the generosity of our community supporters. Scholarships and sliding scales may be available.

Important details about the clinic are as follows:

• Up to 10 participants over the age of 13.
• Emphasis on teaching the client to modify his/her stuttering, eliminate maladaptive behaviors related to stuttering, and change the negative or self-defeating emotional reactions, feelings, and attitudes related to speech.
• 50 hours of formal treatment will be provided during this clinic. The clinic sessions will run from 9 pm – 5:30 pm Sunday the 14^th through Friday the 19^th. There is a 2-hour diagnostic session during the first day of the clinic and a 5-hour session on the last day.
• Housing in one of the residence halls at BGSU and meal plans are offered as a part of the therapy program, and all participants are strongly encouraged to use these services. Those under the age of 18 will need to stay with a parent or guardian during the program. Those interested in housing in Bowling Green, but not in the residence hall, should contact the director.

Follow-up Therapy

As a part of the follow-up therapy, the BGSU clinic will help each client develop his/her own ongoing self-therapy. The purpose of this self-therapy is to allow the individual an avenue for continued use of the effective coping strategies s/he learned during treatment. As a part of their self-therapy, participants will be given various opportunities to attend weekly follow-up therapy, either within a traditional model or through telepractice (up to three months following the intensive clinic).

 Those interested in follow-up via telepractice should have access to a computer, a video camera, and the ability to access the internet to use SKYPE or other communications software. The cost for one-hour of follow-up therapy is $47.50. For the three month follow-up, we offer a package of treatment sessions (25 hours) for $500. Following the three month period, the regular clinic fees will be applied to all therapy.

For More information

If you would like more information about any of these services, please contact Dr. Rodney Gabel at:

BGSU Speech and Hearing Clinic
Department of Communication Disorders
200 Health Center Building
Bowling Green, OH 43403
419-372-2515

Send E-mail to Dr. Rodney Gabel