Dear editor,

I enjoyed your article “CSUN program helps students, community reduce stuttering.” Some points made in the article were right on target. For instance, the article stated that boys are more likely to stutter than girls. This statement is definitely true, as over the years, I have read the ratio of boys-to-girls as being 4-1, 5-1, and 7-1. Personally, I think the ratio is closer to 7-1.

Also, Devin Billingsley said that his stuttering was not cured. It is important to know that the word “cure” is not practical when discussing stuttering. A person may find near total fluency through speech therapy, but it is not responsible to use the label “cured”. Kudos to Mr. Billingsley.

I want to make a point of my own to DAILY SUNDIAL readers in that many people do not know that free speech therapy is available to every child in the U.S., as has been mandated by federal law for forty years.

The website of the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation (www.stutteringhelp.org) has a brochure titled “Special Education Law and Children Who Stutter” that explains this right to free speech therapy for all kids with any type of speech problem. The website of The Stuttering Foundation also offer many free resources on stuttering. There is a Spanish-language version of the site at www.tartamudez.org.

Salvador Montoya Oretga
Bakersfield, CA