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30th Northeastern Regional Weekend Workshop for People Who Stutter.

During the weekend of April 8-10, six CSJs participated in the 30th Northeastern Regional Weekend Workshop for People Who Stutter. The sisters joined hundreds of clients, colleagues, therapists, families and student clinicians who honored Sister Charleen (Char) Bloom for her steadfast, dedicated service to stutterers.

Clients of all ages and races participated in the workshop. They came from varied states of life and several geographic regions within the United States and abroad. So many pointed out how Sister Char offered opportunities for each one of them to make friends, to share their experiences, to encourage one another and not to be afraid that someone was going to make fun of their stuttering speech. Participants stressed how, during therapy sessions, Char gave strength and comfort when they revealed their fears and weaknesses. Her philosophy rang clear to them: Each had a gift that would soon be evidenced in speech, that they could and would conquer their stuttering and succeed.

The Communications Disorders Department at The College of Saint Rose and the Capital District Council of Fluency sponsored the weekend workshop. Sister Charleen Bloom, PhD and Donna Cooperman, PhD, both Board-Recognized Fluency Specialists (BRFS) and mentors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), coordinated the workshop. All the events focused on the theme of Celebrating Communication: The Power of Community, a 30-Year Journey. The workshop sessions addressed the physical, emotional and environmental aspects of stuttering through one-on-one interactions with a therapist and in groups. Group sessions were designed to explore attitudinal aspects of stuttering; the sessions enabled individuals to share common experiences and feelings. Recognized experts, along with professionals from The College of Saint Rose, shared up-to-date information about the most effective speech-therapy techniques. Graduate students from Saint Rose, under the direct supervision of speech-language-pathologists from the Capital District, provided the therapy.

The Saturday evening celebration was a stirring, memorable event. Approaching the stage, one by one, each student-client delivered a message of appreciation to both Sister Char and her colleague Dr. Donna Cooperman. We saw smiles, tears and cheers for successful delivery of speeches. Some voiced ATh-th-th-th-an-k-k-k-k Thank You, S-s-s-ist-t-t-er Char for changing my life, for building my confidence and for believing in me. The participants came away from each speech with renewed enthusiasm for their progress. The student-clinicians and their professorial leaders, along with the audience, often waited in hopeful silence for the next word to be verbalized. One could almost feel each client=s determination to conquer the stuttering. Many noted how the program has enabled the participants to engage more with their world. Unquestionably, these speeches were messages of gratitude during holy hours in a sacred spaceCnot in a chapel or a church but in the temple of each client=s soul!

Sunday's graduation ceremony of about 50 clients was another stirring, emotional, holy time. There were many tears, some tense moments of hesitation and struggle for words, cheers for successful deliveries and clapping when life=s mini-stories were shared. Throughout the weekend=s sessions, skill training, student-client interactions, guest speakers= kudos and evaluations, Sister Char smiled and constantly bequeathed the successes to Dr. Cooperman and all the highly educated and dedicated colleagues who had worked with her through the years. However, no matter to whom she attributed the praise, everyone present knew that Char is professionally in her own genre. As a professional, her accomplishments are myriad: she has authored textbooks, served as keynote speaker at many colleges and universities, lectured in the United States and abroad, held administrative positions at The College of Saint Rose and in many national organizations. Char has spent more than 34 years at The College of Saint Rose evaluating and treating individuals who stutter. She is the founder and director of the Capital District Council for Fluency, a support group and treatment program for people who stutter. She co-authored, with Dr. Cooperman, Synergistic Stuttering Therapy: A Holistic Approach (1999) and a NSSLHA monograph on the Clinical Interview.

Char knows the academic theories but, more importantly, she takes these theories out of the textbooks and gently applies them to her clients. Praise for her credentials is well deserved without a doubt, but credentials are not the essence of her dedication. She is a powerful motivator; her praise fosters creativity and builds self-esteem. She leaves a positive and lasting impression on her clients, colleagues, and all her collaborators. She listens patiently, applauds innovation, celebrates improvement and elicits magical life transformations in her clients. In addition to giving her clients strategies to help control their speech, she also gives them the hope to gain new control and confidence in their daily interactions with others.

Each of the nationally known keynote speakers lauded the program at The College of Saint Rose. Dr. Scott Yaruss from the University of Pittsburgh spoke about the uniqueness of the program and credited Sister Char for its unequivocal organization and authenticity. Dr. Philip Schneider from Queens College pointed out how the program serves as a role model for a myriad of other colleges and universities. Also, he articulated a message to the graduate students at the workshop: They are fortunate to receive professional training in such an excellent academic and very caring program. Dr. Lee Reeves, director of the National Stuttering Association, uttered the most poignant words: ASister Char, you have created a sanctuary at this college, which is unequaled in these United States and in any program, in any other university in this world. You now have a responsibility to make a movie of your teachings and send it out to the world.@ Indeed, Char started that teaching journey, sending her message out to the world years ago. As a young professor of communication disorders after she had finished her doctoral studies, she embraced wholeheartedly the CSJ mandate, ALove the dear neighbor without distinction.@ Throughout her career, Char has healed, encouraged and offered each stutterer the tools to alleviate his/her blocking/stuttering problems.