From the very beginning of its existence, Fundacja Centrum Logopedyczne has been co-organizing LOGOLab workshops, held once a month at the University of Silesia in Katowice for children with stuttering and their parents. These workshops were originally initiated in the 2017–2018 academic year by professor Katarzyna Węsierska, who invited two experienced experts to collaborate with her on this endeavor – speech therapist Agata Sakwerda and the leader of the Polish self-help movement for people with stuttering, Izabela Michta. In the following years, Dr. Monika Pakura, Aleksandra Boroń and Joanna Szymczakowska joined the LOGOLab workshops as therapists working with the children. Many outstanding specialists accepted the organizers’ invitation to take part in the workshop meetings, including the so-called double experts – people who, in addition to helping people with stuttering professionally or voluntarily, also have their own personal experience in this area. In the past, our guests were: Elżbieta Bijak, Zofia Byszewska, Grzegorz Chmielewski, Robert Dorczak, Lucyna Jankowska-Szafarska, Barbara Jeziorczak, Justyna Janikow, Dorota Kamińska, Jakub Szczypa, Filip Werstler.
The aim of the workshops is to modify children’s and parents’ attitudes towards stuttering, promote acceptance of stuttering and positive attitudes towards this phenomenon, strengthen self-esteem and self-acceptance, learn techniques for dealing with stuttering, and stimulate participants’ sensitivity and creativity. The workshops are always held in two groups – a group of parents led from the beginning by professor Katarzyna Węsierska and a children’s group. The workshops are also attended by speech therapy students from the University of Silesia. The workshops are free of charge, as the therapists do not receive remuneration for their work. Thanks to the kindness of the authorities of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Silesia in Katowice, they are held in the hospitable premises of this faculty. Fundacja Centrum Logopedyczne covers the costs associated with organizing these workshops.