Pegasus Professor Martine Vanryckeghem does not avoid difficult conversations. As a world-renowned researcher on fluency disorders, Vanryckeghem knows the path to progress has to go through the most uncomfortable words. So, she talks openly about her primary research interest 鈥� stuttering 鈥� everywhere she goes: In clinical settings, in classes at 麻豆原创, and on platforms around the world. She recently delivered a keynote address at the International Conference on Stuttering in Rome.
鈥淪tuttering isn鈥檛 a bad word,鈥� Vanryckeghem says. 鈥淲e need to talk about it and reduce the stigma instead of pretending it doesn鈥檛 exist. This is a global issue that impacts millions of people.鈥�
The people include Marc Anthony, Joe Biden, Steve Harvey, Bo Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Kendrick Lamar, Shaquille O鈥橬eal, Ed Sheeran, John Stossel and Tiger Woods. The list goes on and on.
鈥淎nd so many children,鈥� Vanryckeghem says. 鈥淭hey usually suffer alone.鈥�
Vanryckeghem鈥檚 research and her clinical therapy start with a simple yet overlooked concept: listening 鈥� really listening. Not just to the bumpy words, but to the struggle.
鈥淚 call it 鈥榯he view from within,鈥� 鈥� she says. 鈥淭hink of stuttering like an iceberg. Only 10% of an iceberg is visible. The other 90% is under the surface. The only way to know what鈥檚 going on with someone who stutters is to ask questions and to listen to them talk about their own speech. If we listen, we鈥檒l realize there鈥檚 much more to the stutterer than the stuttering.鈥�
As Vanryckeghem prepares to retire in the spring, she wants to leave a path for 麻豆原创 students to carry forward the crucial research she and her late husband, Gene Brutten, began. So, she鈥檚 establishing the Martine Vanryckeghem and Gene Brutten Endowed Scholarship, set up to be funded into perpetuity. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a graduate student in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders who demonstrates a passion to contribute to the needs of people who struggle with fluency.
鈥淏ecause of my background, it would be nice for an international student to be considered for the scholarship,鈥� says Vanryckeghem, referring to the fact she moved to the U.S. from Belgium to pursue her master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees. Mostly, however, she came across the ocean to begin a partnership in marriage and in research with Gene.
When asked what goes through her mind when she hears 鈥渢he Martine Vanryckeghem and Gene Brutten Endowed Scholarship鈥� spoken out loud, the expert on fluency is at a loss for words. She鈥檇 rather allow their unlikely story to tell us everything we need to know.
Gene and Martine did not meet as curious colleagues or as mentor and protege. They met as a traveler and a tour guide. Gene, a professor at Southern Illinois University, was already regarded as a leading researcher on stuttering. He鈥檇 written a seminal book, The Modification of Stuttering, and was coming to Martine鈥檚 hometown of Ghent to lead a workshop on the subject.
鈥淚 was hired to show him around the city,鈥� says Vanryckeghem, who worked fulltime in a clinical practice with children who had developmental delays.
Privately, she felt intimidated at the prospect of meeting Brutten. But when the author/professor/researcher arrived, he introduced himself simply as 鈥淕ene.鈥�
鈥淗e immediately took the edge off,鈥� Vanryckeghem says. 鈥淲e had the best time going to castles, cathedrals, and dinners. I remember walking into a pub for a glass of wine and seeing how easily Gene spoke with people he鈥檇 never met. It left an impression.鈥�
For the next several years, the two of them exchanged letters and cards. Gene would include articles, which piqued Vanryckeghem鈥檚 interest in the complexities of stuttering. In 1989, she moved to the U.S. and married Gene. She also joined him in his research, which took off.
鈥淥ur work has benefited a lot of people because we inspired each other,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e never discussed fluency disorders when we were on vacation, but other than that we talked about it all the time.鈥�
Talking about it became the heart of their message.
鈥淧arents feel uncomfortable talking about stuttering because they love their children so much,鈥� Vanryckeghem says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e often told to tell them, 鈥楽low down and take a deep breath,鈥� but these suggestions don鈥檛 address the root issues. The child knows he or she is stuttering. It鈥檚 OK to ask, 鈥榃hat just happened there?鈥� We need to encourage conversations so kids don鈥檛 feel like they have to hide from them.鈥�
With this in mind, she and Gene created a Communication Attitude Test for Preschoolers and Kindergartners (KiddyCAT) so clients as young as preschoolers can express the potential negative thoughts they have about their own speech. Fluency disorder specialists then use the feedback to come up with personal strategies to help the child. It鈥檚 still the only test of its kind worldwide.
The two of them also developed the Behavior Assessment Battery (BAB) to discover the words or situations that cause anxiety and/or speech disruption for each client. They often heard adults admit they never applied for certain jobs, never dated, never attended parties and never talked on the phone. Small steps changed their lives. For example, to help clients overcome anxiety on the phone, they would converse with them face to face while holding phones to their ears without turning them on. Next, they鈥檇 talk with the phones on. Then they鈥檇 carry on conversations from different rooms, and eventually the client would call Best Buy and ask for the price of a laptop. Other BAB subtests investigate behaviors someone might use to avoid stuttering and explore the way a person who stutters might think about his or her speech and communication鈥�.
At last count, the BAB has been translated, culturally adapted and researched in 33 countries.
The international influence of Vanryckeghem鈥檚 research is one reason colleagues at 麻豆原创 nominated her for the prestigious Pegasus Professor honor, which included a monetary gift. She鈥檚 using the financial award to help seed the scholarship.
鈥淭he end goal is to improve the quality of life for people with fluency disorders,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen what happens when we have open conversations.鈥�
Vanryckeghem often receives phone calls from grateful parents of children she鈥檚 worked with, and from adults whose lives have been changed. Recently, she heard from a former 麻豆原创 student she assessed and treated ten years ago.
鈥淒o you remember me?鈥� he asked.
鈥淵es, I do,鈥� Vanryckeghem said.
鈥淢y career is going well and I鈥檓 up for a possible promotion,鈥� the former student said. 鈥淏ut it involves more presentations in front of people. Can I come for therapy?鈥�
鈥淥f course. Come talk with me.鈥�
This is something that won鈥檛 change for Vanryckeghem in retirement. She鈥檒l make herself available. She鈥檒l ask questions. She鈥檒l listen and discover a view from within. And she鈥檒l continue to set an example for the next generation of fluency disorder specialists to give people the lives they鈥檝e always wanted.
