Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Associate Professor Nathan Maxfield, PhD, CCC-SLP gave an invited presentation titled "Stuttering as Neurodivergence?" at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center PhD Program in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences 2023 Alumni Event. The theme of the event was "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility."
His talk addressed the current debate about whether the verbal condition of stuttering should be approached using a medical model of disability, which aims to normalize people who stutter, using the neurodiversity model of disability, which aims to help people who stutter adapt while creating a social environment in which it is easier to stutter, or some combination of these two models. Maxfield reviewed literature addressing both sides of this debate and then presented his own perspectives as a person with a history of severe stuttering who is also a speech pathologist.
The event took place in midtown Manhattan and was the first in-person alumni event of the program since New York City reopened from the COVID pandemic lockdown. Maxfield completed his PhD at CUNY Graduate Center in 2005.