American Institute for Stuttering

About American Institute for Stuttering

American Institute for Stuttering is a nonprofit speech therapy center founded in 1998 that focuses on helping people who stutter. AIS provides in-person services in New York City and Atlanta, along with online teletherapy. The website describes support for preschoolers, school-age children, teens, adults, and parents. Services include individual stuttering therapy, consultations, workshops, weekly practice and support groups, and immersion-style programs offered during the year. Its online program also includes consultations, stuttering evaluations, individual sessions for school-age children, teens, and adults, counseling for parents of preschool children, group therapy, support groups, and specialty workshops. The clinic also highlights financial assistance options for clients who need help with the cost of care.

AIS presents its treatment model as personalized and broad in scope rather than centered only on speech techniques. The site explains that therapy addresses the physical features of stuttering as well as the thoughts, emotions, fear, and avoidance that can come with it. It says treatment draws from avoidance reduction therapy, acceptance and commitment approaches, and rational emotive behavioral therapy, with plans tailored to each person’s history, values, and speaking patterns. Family involvement is also part of care, especially for younger children, and parent support focuses on helping families make practical changes that can improve a child’s fluency and confidence. The team includes Executive Director Dr. Heather Grossman, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F, and speech-language pathologists Alex Benevento, MS, CCC-SLP, Margaret Miller, MA, CCC-SLP, and Kristel Kubart, MA, CCC-SLP. Staff pages describe experience in fluency disorders, client-centered care, acceptance-based work, and treatment for young children and families as well as teens and adults.

Conditions Treated, Specialties & Treatment Types