Dr.Martin's visit to India

Dear all,

Dr.Martin along with his wife are planning to visit India between last week of Dec’2013 and 3^rd week of Jan’2014. He has proposed to visit Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai . About Dr.Martin, he was basically a surgeon with New York University Medical Center in basic research on birth defects, particularly the problems of cleft lip and palate. He accidentally discovered the physical cause of stuttering, developed a treatment for it, and subsequently founded “The National Center for Stuttering”. He has also written a book called “Stutter No More”. To know more about him, pl visit http://www.stutter-no-more.com/

During his visit to India, he has proposed to give lecture on   “The Trigger for Stuttering” in the above three cities. He has proposed to visit Chennai on 3^rd and 4^th of Jan’2014. I am arranging his lecture at Chennai on 4^th Jan’2014.The abstract of his proposed speech is given below.

“I posit a sequence of events that constitutes a model for stuttering based on the elucidation of a trigger for the disorder. The events are as follows: In a neurologically predisposed individual, diverse endogenous and exogenous stresses can occur simultaneously to result in a buildup of tension at the larynx that reaches speech-arresting levels in the silence before speech. A state of vocal-fold immobilization, commonly called a block, then exists. This block constitutes the core of stuttering.

The most typical immediate childhood response to a block is a repetition. Repetitions can occur with varying degrees of tension and frequency and often become habits. After a period of time, which can vary greatly, the child can become aware of and react to the repetitions and/or the blocks by engaging in one or more of a number of activities. These can be avoidance behaviors, direct, forceful confrontational attacks, or pre-speech maneuvers such as swallowing, inhaling deeply, speaking on expiratory reserve or using vocal starters.

All of these behaviors, with the exception of the core behavior, the laryngeal block, are learned. The core behavior is represented by a unique afferent laryngeal array that, through conditioning, becomes the trigger for all of the learned behaviors associated with it. Any activity that alters this unique afferent laryngeal array sufficiently can prevent the conditioned stutter responses from occurring and thus has potential implications for therapy.” 

I request Delhi and Mumbai SHG to make this opportunity and arrange for his lecture. If they are interested, inform to me so that we can get Dr.Martin’s programme schedule to Delhi and Mumbai.

Regards,

Manimaran.