She helps children who stutter

He was bright, well-liked but seldom spoke to his friends — not even a "hi," recalled Bejarano, a speech-language pathologist for Sunnyside Unified School District.

The boy stuttered and never had been to therapy until he met with Bejarano. He was her first student, and she taught him speech techniques and how to reduce muscle tension so he could say words slowly without a stutter.

"He is the reason I have a real strong passion to help children who stutter. He moved me to help kids. He was such an amazing, smart boy," said Bejarano, one of 20 pathologists selected to attend a five-day intensive workshop on stuttering therapy in Portland, Ore., that concluded Sunday.

In an interview before Bejarano left for Portland, she spoke about the emotional pain of children who stutter.

"They get frustrated when they can't communicate, or when people cannot understand them," she said. "Children cry because they get teased."

Parents need to learn about the articulation disorder, and that it can be a neurological, environmental or genetic issue, Bejarano said. They also have to support their children and deal with their own negative attitudes toward stuttering, she said.

The workshop was co-sponsored by the Stuttering Foundation of America and Portland State University.

The nonprofit foundation estimates that there are more than 3 million people in the United States who stutter. Among those are John Stossel, a reporter for ABC's "20/20"; golf star Tiger Woods; singer Carly Simon; actor James Earl Jones; and NBC sports commentator Bill Walton.

"There is no cure for stuttering," said Bejarano, who is based at Elvira Elementary School, 250 W. Elvira Road. "I want to constantly keep learning the latest techniques because I want to be able to help my kids; I want to pick and choose techniques that are best for each child. And, I want to make sure the techniques are supported by research."

She works with about 50 students and also serves San Xavier Mission School, next to Mission San Xavier del Bac, southwest of Tucson.

"Working with children is amazing because they have so much motivation and passion to learn," Bejarano said. "I love to see the progress they make with their communication skills. It is very rewarding."

DID YOU KNOW

• Liliana Bejarano, a speech therapist in the Sunnyside Unified School District, was among 20 chosen across the nation to attend a workshop in Portland, Ore., on stuttering. She was to learn the latest speech techniques that help control stuttering, and to share the knowledge with the district's other speech-language pathologists.

• Bejarano also was to learn how to involve parents in therapy sessions with their child so that they can learn how to help their child with the child's articulation disorders.

SUNNYSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

• The district has about 20 speech-language pathologists who work with around 1,000 students, ages 3 to 21, who have articulation and processing disorders, autism and developmental delays, said Sue Tillis, the district's director of special education.

• If you have any concern about your children's speech and language development, contact the special-education department in your school district. Sunnyside district's special-education department can be reached at 545-2094 or www.susd12.org

STUTTERING FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

• This nonprofit organization offers online resources, services and support to those who stutter and their families, according to its Web site at www.stutteringhelp.org

• The foundation also supports research and has a "Just for Kids" page that shares inspiring stories and the thoughts of children who stutter.