NEWS

Morristown woman helps kids find their words

Leslie Ruse
@LeslieRuseDR

As a speech pathologist for the Morris School District, Joanne Summer worked with youngsters who spent each day dealing with a wide range of speech and language problems.

At the Alexander Hamilton School and Sussex Avenue Schools, the Morristown resident worked with children in grades three through five, including on how to manage their stuttering.

“I had children referred to me who didn’t stutter but it sounded like stuttering. I had one boy who couldn’t express anything and because of that he wouldn’t speak clearly. I worked with him to just pause and this gave him time to formulate his thoughts. His mother said to me at a meeting, ‘He couldn’t put two words together before he started working with you,’” said Summer.

“Working with him, I was able to take this kid who couldn’t get the words out and help him become a smooth, fluent speaker. That’s why it’s very satisfying when you see a child who doesn’t want to talk because they’re afraid they’re not going to be able to express themselves. When they become a clear confident speaker, that’s the greatest feeling to me.”

Summer’s interest in stuttering was first piqued while working with children in the Morris School District after graduating with a speech language pathology degree from Montclair State University.

“Ten years ago I had four children who stuttered on my caseload which is actually a lot. In the world of speech and language, most of what we see in the schools is articulation which is making speech sounds and the kids have trouble producing them. Or receptive language disorders, what they understand. Or expressive language disorders, what they can tell you. That’s most of what we see. Stuttering is a small portion of it.”

During June, Summer, now the owner of Well Spoken Speech Therapy in Morristown, participated in the “Using Cognitive Approaches to Working with People Who Stutter” workshop, co-sponsored by the Stuttering Foundation and Boston University. Summer was one of only 20 chosen to attend the intensive workshop on stuttering therapy, held in Boston.

“I learned a great deal using cognitive approaches to helping people who stutter. I wanted to increase my knowledge and skills treating people across the lifespan who stutter. I also want to become a board certified fluency specialist with ASHA, the American-Speech-Language-Association. There’s a great need for fluency specialists,” said Summer, who has three children.

“I like making a positive difference in children’s lives and actually in anyone’s life. That’s why I want to do this and that’s why I’m doing this.”

The Stuttering Foundation estimates that more than 70 million stutter worldwide. It notes that the more than 320 past graduates of the Boston Workshop program have created a ripple effect back in their home communities as they continue to share their knowledge.

“I had applied for a Stuttering Foundation workshop ten years ago treating children and adolescents who stutter. I had all these kids on my caseload who stuttered and I really didn’t have a lot of hands-on experience from graduate school in what to do with them and I learned so much in that workshop,” said Summer.

“I then became like the point person in the Morris School District for the other speech therapists. I presented to them, I shared what I learned. They had questions about kids who would stutter and they would talk to me. I also presented to teachers at the Morris School District. The Stuttering Foundation is awesome.”

As a board certified fluency specialist, Summer would be able to reach children even earlier, allowing her to help them before stuttering becomes a condition they have to manage.

“Stuttering is a very complicated speech disorder and it’s the interaction of a lot of different factors. Early intervention is key. You want to start them when they’re young. You want to catch it. Intervention is very powerful because that can change the outcome. It’s exciting stuff.”

Well Spoken Speech Therapy, LLC, is a full service speech-language pathology practice serving people of all ages who exhibit difficulty with fluent speech. Well Spoken’s mission is to provide exemplary assessment and treatment to preschoolers, school-aged children, adolescents and adults.

“Children in school who stutter and are very aware of it, they might be embarrassed and ashamed. Or they might not volunteer. They might pretend they don’t know the answers when they do because they don’t want to say it,” Summer said.

“Sometimes people get the sweats over it. No one should have that over speaking. Speaking should be an effortless, wonderful thing. I mean, human beings speak. I want to help people who stutter, of all ages. I’d like to help them end the stuttering.”

Summer will be presenting “Discovering and Dealing with Speech and Language Disorders in Your Child” at 7 p.m. on September 10 at the Morristown & Morris Twp. Library, located at 1 Miller Road in Morristown. 973-538-6161

She will speak on the differences between speech and language, the types of language disorders, the types of speech fluencies and dysfluencies and what steps a parent can take. For more information, call 973-538-6161 or visit www.jfpl.org.

For more information about Well Spoken Speech Therapy, 20 Elm Street in Morristown, visit www.wellspokennj.com or call 201-323-2686.

Help the Homeless

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Randolph students peace prize

Louis Heineman, of Wharton, and Matthew McCloskey, of Flanders, were the winners of the County College of Morris’ 14th annual Peace Prize. The winning project consisted of a short video and a mural.

Staff Writer Leslie Ruse: 973-428-6671; lruse@GannettNJ.com.