How is Speech Produced
Types of Disfluency
Psychological Effects
Research on Stuttering
Is Therapy Important?
Picking a Therapist
Overview of Techniques and Treatments
Designers have a special ability to inform. Through our knowledge of different types of communication (written, print, online, and motion) we can choose to make a difference in the topics that mean something to the world and to us.
Over the past several years, and especially during the past months, there has been a push for designers to design for the good of society. This thesis is my attempt to do just that.
This project is a stuttering awareness campaign entitled "I Have A Voice" which includes an website that will help people who stutter better understand their communication disorder and provide insight into how speech therapy may help them.
Living with this disorder can take a heavy emotional toll. Many people who stutter believe nothing can ever help them. If they go into therapy with this attitude it hinders the success that therapy could have. The I Have A Voice website addresses this issue by informing adults who stutter about their communication disorder and recommending speech therapy as a viable treatment for accepting and perhaps alleviating their stuttering. The website will include video examples of different core symptoms of stuttering, a synopsis of what the research says about the reasons people stutter, an overview of therapy treatments, and a resource area where they can further explore information and/or treatment locations. By allowing an individual to get a look into the different therapy options, a person who stutters may be able to walk into therapy with the knowledge that this avenue of treatment could work for them. That change in mindset can make all the difference.
I am an Art Director in the Washington DC Metro Area and student at the University of Baltimore in the M.F.A. in Integrated Design Program. I am also a person who stutters.
Thesis By
Doris "Reece" Quiñones
Ed Gold, Director, M.F.A. in Integrated Design, University of Baltimore, Committee Chair
Bert Smith, Associate Professor, University of Baltimore
Sarah Joy Verville, Assistant Professor, Stevenson University
MFA-ID Executive Committee
Professor Ed Gold
Professor Julie Simon
Professor Bert Smith
Professor Amy Pointer
Expert sources
Dr. Drayna, Chief, Section on Systems Biology of Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health
Jane Fraser, President, Stuttering Foundation of America
To my family, friends, and coworkers thank you for your support throughout the years. To Laura Berry, Patrick Williams, and Maureen Williams thank you for your editing help and your encouragement. To my professors at the University of Baltimore, I would not be where I am today without you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. And a very special thank you to the speech therapist that helped me realize that I had a voice!
The thesis document was created using Adobe InDesign 5.5. The artwork was created and/or manipulated using Photoshop and Illustrator. The promotional video was created in After Effects CS. This website was created using Dreamweaver 5.5 using original code by Samuliii.
Stuttering Infographic
I Have a Voice Promo Video
View the Bibliography
Download Thesis Paper
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I Have A Voice © 2012
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