Press Releases
SpeechEasy Establishes Sean Anderson Memorial Scholarship Program
Children Who Stutter Will Receive Free Fluency Devices Via Program Named in Memory of Florida Youth
Greenville, North Carolina - May 12, 2004 - SpeechEasy, the leading provider of portable electronic devices that help people who stutter speak more fluently, today announced the establishment of the Sean Anderson Memorial Scholarship Program to provide SpeechEasy devices to financially disadvantaged children who stutter.
Named in memory of ten-year-old SpeechEasy user Sean Anderson of Ocoee, Florida, the program will provide one recipient annually with SpeechEasy's premiere "in-the-canal" device (a $6,000 value), along with follow-up therapy by a certified Speech Language Pathologist (SLP).
Sean received the SpeechEasy device nine months before his untimely death last February. He had struggled with severe stuttering most of his life, but once he received the device he became more fluent, gaining the heightened sense of confidence and self-reliance that comes from being able to communicate more effectively.
"SpeechEasy turned Sean's life around, and made those nine months the best of his life," said Martha Lopez-Anderson, Sean's mother. "We are comforted by the fact that SpeechEasy will help other children to benefit in his memory."
The device will be given this week to 13-year-old Lazaro Arbos of Naples, Florida. Several months ago, Lazaro was pre-screened and found to be an ideal candidate for the device, but his family was unable to afford it. His situation - that of a child unable to receive the life-changing benefits of the SpeechEasy device due to financial limitations - is precisely what the new program is aimed at addressing.
Once Sean's parents decided to donate his SpeechEasy device to another child who stutters, the Company that makes the device - Janus Development Group - volunteered to absorb the refitting costs. In addition, both Sean's parents and Janet Skotko - the Tampa-based Speech Language Pathologist who fitted Sean and now Lazaro - have donated their time and money to the process.
"This program is SpeechEasy's way of helping children and honoring the memory of a fine young boy," said Darwin Richards, president of Janus Development Group - SpeechEasy's parent company. "The generosity demonstrated by the Anderson family in donating Sean's device inspired us to launch the Sean Anderson Memorial Scholarship."
The launch of the Sean Anderson Memorial Scholarship Program coincides with the observance of National Stuttering Awareness Week (May 10-16). SpeechEasy also recently launched a National Outreach Program to provide free or heavily subsidized SpeechEasy devices to 100 people nationwide that stutter. Selection of National Outreach Program recipients will be based on several factors, including financial need and potential for life-improving benefits such as social and academic/career advancements. The application deadline is June 30, 2004. More information about both the Sean Anderson Memorial Scholarship Program and the SpeechEasy's National Outreach Program is available at www.speecheasy.com.
About SpeechEasy
SpeechEasy is a portable fluency-enhancing device that can help people who stutter speak more fluently with less effort. More than 3,000 people who stutter have been fitted with the device since it was first made available to the public in December 2001. Similar to a hearing aid, SpeechEasy is worn in or around the ear, but rather than amplify sound, it alters the way the user hears his own voice - changing the pitch and delaying it slightly to trick the brain into hearing a second voice speaking in unison. Such "choral" speech alleviates and can even eliminate stuttering. SpeechEasy was developed by a team of communication disorder researchers at East Carolina University, and is marketed exclusively by Janus Development Group. SpeechEasy devices are available via a nationwide network of state licensed, ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association) certified speech language pathologists. More information about SpeechEasy is available at www.speecheasy.com.
