Our Speech Therapy Approach

Have you had trouble talking on the phone, giving presentations, ordering at a restaraunt, meeting and greeting people, asking for information, interviewing?

Would you like to give an effective presentation, be ready to speak at a moments notice, engage in personal conversation more fluently, enjoy the freedom of speaking?

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Our Assessment

Our assessment begins with the evaluation of both unique physical, or behavioral symptoms of the disfluency as well as cognitive, or emotional issues that may also exist. After a comprehensive, in depth evaluation, an individual therapy plan is agreed upon.

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F.A.S.T Fluency

We offer you a unique, highly effective direct approach that aims to resolve stuttering in preschool children. More than 600 children have graduated from this program with stuttering resolved, as it proves to be at the cutting edge of fluency treatment for years to come.

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About Tim Mackesey

Georgia licensed and nationally certified speech-language pathologist since 1992, he specializes in the evaluation and treatment of fluency disorders in Atlanta. As a severe stutterer for more than 20 years, he is well aware of the milestones it takes to achieve more fluent speech.

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Stuttering Therapy Help & Community

Long Distance Help

Phone and live internet sessions for those not near the Atlanta area.

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Parent & Teacher Help

Enhance the learning experience and reinforce a feeling of success.

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Raise Your Voice Nonprofit

A 501c3 established to educate and provide a community outreach.

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Classroom Advocacy

Learn how to advocate for your child in a classroom.

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Send Us Your Video

Highly skilled video diagnostic and audio analysis options.

Basic

Video Feedback and Phone Call

Free

Advanced

Stuttering Severity Instrument

$100

Stuttering Therapy Learning Center

Our Learning Center is updated frequently with videos, links and downloadable articles.

Events

April 3, 2020
 – 
University of Wisconsin-Madison Presents My Beautiful Stutter
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Seminars

Raise Your Voice, Inc had 75 people on January 13, 2018 in Atlanta, GA. We presented a casual seminar that featured several stories of success. A diverse group of speakers told their stories of taking stuttering on head first- and winning.

Workshops

Loaded with effective, proven strategies to help people who stutter. To book one of these workshops in your area, please contact Tim by filling out the Contact Us form. Please specify the location, desired date, the audience, and the number of people expected to attend.

Age Groups

Stuttering across the years

Age group 1

Pre-School Stuttering

It is common for a child aged 2-6 to experience a period of disfluency. Some patterns of disfluency need only to be monitored by the parents. "More typical" disfluencies are those present in the speech of all speakers, and may resolve without intervention.

These should be loose and effortless. (Of course, early intervention strategies for parents can increase the odds of the child "outgrowing" the period of disfluency.) "Less typical," or at-risk patterns, are indicative of disfluencies involved with stuttering.

More Typical
  • Hesitations

  • Interjections ("uh, "um")

  • Unfinished Words

  • Phrase Repetitions

  • Revisions

Less Typical
  • Sound Repetitions (p-p-pizza)

  • Syllable Repetitions (pi-pi-pizza)

  • Prolongations of Sounds/Words

  • Speech Blocks (voicing stops)

  • Tense Word Repetitions

Age group 2

School Age Stuttering

A preschooler who stutters — even forcefully — may not have personalized the behavior. Our school-age children are about to start reading aloud, doing book reports, show-and-tell, plays, speak on the intercom, and other verbal activities. With these new speaking demands and more scrutinizing listeners we have new challenges in solving stuttering. A thorough evaluation must find out if the grade K-5 child has developed negative thoughts and feelings about the stuttering.

Leaving The Piaget's Preoperational Stage

Once a child reaches elementary school there is a greater chance of negative listener reactions (i.e., teasing). The teasing and comments are often covert and not when the teacher is present. After age six, as he leaves Piaget's Preoperational Stage, a child will be much more cognizant of being "different" from his peers. Psychologists use the terms "comparing self to other" and "projecting/mind reading" when describing these cognitive processes that can lead to self-consciousness and fear.

Age group 3

Teen Adult Stuttering

How would you like to...
  • Know why and how you stutter in some situations but not in others. What provokes stuttering?

  • Become consistently fluent on specific words, specific sounds, and in specific situations that have been a problem for you

  • Remove anxiety about stuttering and stop avoidance habits (i.e., word changing)

  • Fill in the missing puzzle pieces from previous therapy. Perhaps you have several strategies that serve you well. Can you use them 100% of the time? Would "fine-tuning" help you become more consistent?

  • Talk on the telephone more fluently

  • Introduce yourself and others more easily

  • Read out loud with ease

  • De-mystify stuttering

  • Participate in conference calls and internet chat (i.e., Skype) with comfort

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5-Star Rating

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The Therapy Dogs

Meet Georgia and Louise!

Georgia and Louise are hypoallergenic Maltese-Shih Tsu mix breeds. They are greeters, mascots, and therapy aids. Kids will speak for Georgia and Louise!

For 14.5 years, Georgia made everyone feel at home.  She got kids talking!  Georgia provided many firsts for children: the first dog they walked, brushed, petted, or trusted. Louise has big paws to fill.

Atlanta Stuttering Specialist Testimonials

Video Testimonials

By providing my son with techniques and strategies to improve his speech as well as teaching him coping skills, Tim changed my teenage son’s life entirely. He managed to do all this with great with and humor which my son could immediately relate to.

Kim Kaplan
Marietta, GA

Confidence in my new skills has turned speaking situations into eagerly anticipated events, rather than feared ones. Tim has helped me break the downward cycle of self-consciousness, self-doubt and unpenetrable blocks. Communication is now wonderful.

Dane Williams
age 29

Speech therapy with Tim helped my daughter resolve her severe stuttering problem. It was a positive experience for the whole family. Three years after F.A.S.T. Fluency, Sydney no longer demonstrates any disfluency.

Tammy Cohen
Ph.D., mother

I can’t express how grateful I am to you, Tim. My son has an awesome level of fluency. Before we came to you, I was so worried about his stuttering. Now, I almost never hear a remotely bumpy word. This was an answer to our prayers. Your program was perfect for my son. I will continue to recommend it to other parents. Thank you.

Laura Hicks
mother

F.A.S.T. Fluency was magnificent. It helped our son build confidence and courage when dealing with his fluency challenge. We would recommend it to anyone.Noah started speech therapy with Tim at age 5 years, 1 month. He had 10 visits of therapy. More than four years after treatment Noah remains free of stuttering.

Angela McDaniel
mother

My son was moving his arms and torso as he stuttered and struggled. These body movements stopped after two visits. He is able to stop and correct his occasional mild bumpy words. I learned a lot and want to thank you. Now that we are doing articulation therapy, we use your same approach with games and praise.

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Our Atlanta Stuttering Specialist Team

Tim Mackesey

Founder & Lead Therapist

Georgia licensed and nationally certified speech-language pathologist since 1992, he specializes in the evaluation and treatment of fluency disorders in Atlanta. As a severe stutterer for more than 20 years, he is well aware of the milestones it takes to transform speaking skills and to unleash confidence as a communicator.

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Sarah Barron

Associate & Therapist

Sarah is passionate about helping people who stutter. Stuttering runs in her family and it provided the inspiration for her vocation. She is experienced in treating stuttering in preschoolers, school-age children, and adults. 

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Katie Brewer

Associate & Therapist

Katie Brewer, M.S., CCC-SLP, was inspired to pursue a career as an SLP following her own journey with stuttering.  Katie grew up with a severe stutter that affected her ability to communicate comfortably and confidently. As a person who stutters, Katie knew early on that she wanted to work exclusively with people who stutter and help them find their voices.  Katie was Tim’s client in middle school.

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