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Misericordia research aims for better treatment of stuttering

<p>DALLAS &#8212; For most people, daily tasks such as introducing oneself to a class at the start of a school year or ordering an entree at a fancy restaurant aren&#8217;t stress-producing.</p><p>For those who stutter, however, the tasks can be daunting.</p><p>Misericordia University aims to alleviate that stress and provide support to those who stutter with its Northeast Pennsylvania chapter of the National Stuttering Association, the only chapter in the region recognized by the organization.</p><p>In the United States, about 3 million people &#8212; or 1 percent of the population &#8212; stutter, according to the association.</p><p>&#8220;The overriding mission of the support group is to, first and foremost, give people that stutter a place to come to where they don&#8217;t have to worry, be embarrassed or be frustrated about their speech,&#8221; said Kyle Pelkey, a speech-language pathology (SLP) major and one of the group&#8217;s leaders. &#8220;Also, to give people hope that they can do anything they want in their life.</p><p>&#8220;Stuttering doesn&#8217;t need to be something that controls their life. Our group will help them control their stuttering.&#8221;</p><p>Pelkey, a grad student from Waterbury, Ct., struggles with the condition himself. When he joined the group three years ago, he said it was the first time he had met people who face the same challenges he does on a daily basis. To him, it was a source of comfort to know he wasn&#8217;t alone.</p><p>Pelkey said he believes the group &#8212; co-founded in 2012 by Terrence Murgallis, who graduated in 2015 with an SLP degree, and Midori Rodriguez, who graduated in 2014 with the same degree &#8212; has succeeded in its goals of creating hope and raising awareness and knowledge about stuttering.</p><p>One way the group does this is with its annual 5k run/walk, &#8220;Don&#8217;t Tell Me to Slow Down,&#8221; in April. The event is intended to increase awareness and raise funds for the group. That money then is used to produce newsletters, brochures, booklets and online resources.</p><p>Some common myths about stuttering were cited by Glen Tellis, a board-certified specialist in stuttering as well as the chairman of the speech-language pathology department at Misericordia. Those myths include that nervousness or stress cause the condition, that those who stutter have experienced emotional trauma, and that stuttering is caused by bad parenting.</p><p>&#8220;Because fluent speakers occasionally become more disfluent when they are nervous or under stress, some people assume that people who stutter do so for the same reason,&#8221; Tellis explained. &#8220;While people who stutter may be nervous because they stutter, nervousness is not the cause.&#8221;</p><p>The scientific consensus, Tellis said, is that emotional trauma isn&#8217;t the root of the problem, and stuttering in a child is not a parent&#8217;s fault.</p><p>&#8220;Stress in a child&#8217;s environment can exacerbate stuttering, but is not the cause,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Aside from simply educating the public, the Misericordia group also has succeeded in giving those who stutter hope, Pelkey said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not going to affect a large audience, but the ones that it does affect, it really affects. It can change the way they live their daily life,&#8221; Pelkey said, adding that the group can help people who stutter gain acceptance, causing feelings of embarrassment or frustration to go away.</p><p>For more information about stuttering, visit the Northeast chapter of the <a href="http://www.nsachapters.org/nepa" target="_blank">National Stuttering Association&#8217;s website</a>, or call Misericordia&#8217;s Glen Tellis at 570-674-6159.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Misericordia University grad student Kyle Pelkey, a leader in the Northeast chapter of the National Stuttering Association, says his group&#8217;s mission is &#8216;to give people that stutter a place to come to where they don&#8217;t have to worry, be embarrassed or be frustrated about their speech.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_pelkey-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia University grad student Kyle Pelkey, a leader in the Northeast chapter of the National Stuttering Association, says his group&#8217;s mission is &#8216;to give people that stutter a place to come to where they don&#8217;t have to worry, be embarrassed or be frustrated about their speech.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE</strong></p><p><strong>OVERCOME STUTTERING</strong></p><p>Marilyn Monroe, actress</p><p>Bill Walton, NBA commentator and former player</p><p>Adrian Peterson, NFL running back</p><p>Jack Paar, radio and TV comedian</p><p>Mel Tillis, country music singer/songwriter</p><p>Source: National Stuttering Association</p></factboxMeta></div>

Misericordia group offers support for those who stutter