{"id":29964,"date":"2025-12-16T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T01:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=advice&p=29964"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:25:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:25:37","slug":"from-struggle-to-strength","status":"publish","type":"advice","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/advice\/from-struggle-to-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"From struggle to strength: Janet Beilby\u2019s legacy in stuttering therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For 40 years, Professor Janet Beilby has helped thousands of Australian children and adults to manage their stutter as director of the Curtin Stuttering Treatment Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work has been so life-changing for many that when she recently ran into a mother and her daughter, the latter of whom Janet had treated for stuttering as a child, the mum was overcome with emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was so excited and saying to her daughter, \u2018Remember the bumpy talking, darling? Remember?\u2019\u201d Janet recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The daughter, on the other hand \u2013 now a teenager \u2013 had no clue who Janet was and found the whole scene rather embarrassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mum was devastated that she had no memory of the therapy!\u201d Janet laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I was celebrating, because she had just got on with life. And that\u2019s the best message that I\u2019ve done a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet\u2019s dedicated work as a speech pathology<\/a> clinician, educator and researcher in Curtin\u2019s School of Allied Health reached a new high this year when she and her colleagues confirmed a genetic link to stuttering<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is, stuttering is not caused by childhood trauma or anxiety as commonly believed, but by genes \u2013 48 in fact. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If a child inherits some of these penetrant genes from either or both parents, it is likely that they will develop a stutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research was published in Nature Genetics<\/em><\/a> in July and has made headlines worldwide. With a simple saliva test, clinicians can predict which family members are likely to experience the speech disorder that affects 400 million people globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
A salvia test can reveal if an individual carries the genes that can lead to stuttering.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Janet and her colleagues, it means they can start intervention early and help mitigate the impact stuttering has on a person\u2019s confidence, social life, employment and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We unpacked this life-changing research in our latest podcast episode, The Future of Speech: stuttering, genetics and intervention<\/a><\/em>. Below, we highlight just some of Janet\u2019s career as a pioneering speech pathologist who has helped so many people to find their voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q. You\u2019ve committed yourself to a lifetime of speech therapy. Where did it all start for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> It started in the early 80s when I was a speech pathology graduate at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, where we ran an outpatient clinic for adults who stuttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These people were phenomenal, but they were really hurting. We were doing pretty draconian speech therapy back then \u2013 it was fluency at all costs \u2013 because we thought that was best practice. But it never sat right with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It shouldn\u2019t get to the point where stuttering is left to consume so much of a person\u2019s waking life.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, I was then offered a job at Curtin and through that I travelled to the US on a research scholarship, where I was able to turn my attention to early treatment for stuttering. I worked with some very prestigious researchers at the University of Arizona, and I came back to Australia with great conviction, and it\u2019s been a rolling stone ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I have to say that I\u2019ve been drawn to this profession because it\u2019s all about relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationship building has been instrumental in my work. The worst researchers are those who have no interpersonal skills!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got to be approachable and happy to cooperate and work with people. And I think that\u2019s the essence of this therapy and work. You\u2019ve got to be kind and want to be caring in your working life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q. Tell me about some of work you do with children who stutter at the Curtin clinic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> I have an excellent PhD student, Rachel Michael, who is conducting research into school aged children who stutter, because 100% of these children are bullied. So, our responsibility is not only to help their fluency but to help their psychosocial needs as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Research shows that 100% of school-aged children who stutter are bullied. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We do that through programs that help a person feel that they are not defined by their stutter; it\u2019s just one facet of them. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s not about \u2018fixing\u2019 someone, it\u2019s about negotiating with that individual about what they want and need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, we’ve devised the Curtin Stuttering Treatment Program, which incorporates a resilience package, modified from the Triple P Parenting course, into the therapy for stuttering. The package encourages more autonomy in children such as by giving them chores and increased responsibilities, and pulls back on empty, vacuous praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s based on some very interesting work from Russ Harris called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)<\/a>, whereby he says you don’t want a \u2018happiness trap\u2019 \u2013 you don’t want to keep young people happy all the time. What you want is for them to be well-adjusted adults, and that means having resilience to deal with life and all its adversities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if a young person or adult does stutter, you teach them to stay in the moment, get a little grounded and then move on. ACT takes away the struggle, and when you eliminate the struggle, the symptoms improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Back on your bike’: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy aims to build resilience in kids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Q. Some time ago now, you were researching stuttering when you became the mum of three children, all of whom stuttered as pre-schoolers. What was that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. <\/strong>It was very close to home. Mother Nature blew me the biggest raspberry and said, \u2018Hey, you think you know what you\u2019re doing? You deal with this.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned an enormous amount by having children myself who stuttered. I have so much more compassion for parents and children who stutter. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I cried myself to sleep because I understood what their lives might be like if I didn\u2019t help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But fortunately, I knew what to do. All my children had different symptoms and severity, and they all had different temperaments, so I knew that I had to do different therapies for each of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also made me understand that life is so busy and frantic for parents, and not to villify them. It helped us as clinicians to see the need to work more practically and supportively with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I really had to put my money where my mouth is! But my children are all perfectly fluent, happy, interesting and well-adjusted adults and I couldn\u2019t be prouder of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q. The Nature Genetics<\/a><\/em> research has enabled you and your colleagues to showcase your pivotal work on a global stage. How satisfying has that been?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> It sounds crazy, but I don\u2019t ever feel satisfied. I don’t feel like I’ve got it, yet. And staying dissatisfied keeps me curious and keeps me wanting to achieve more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I do feel very fortunate that I have achieved personal and professional satisfaction in my career, because I work with a lot of adults who\u2019ve been robbed of their potential to do that and may never experience that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it’s bittersweet working with people who struggle with the fundamentals of human communication every day. And I do feel very fortunate, but still hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Janet and her colleagues\u2019 stuttering research and clinical work in The Future of Speech: stuttering, genetics and intervention<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n