Hello all,

   In honor of the first anniversary of formation of the ICA, the executive board voted to establish May 14, 2008 as the International Cluttering Awareness Day. Please see below for an announcement about the day that you should feel free to modify, translate, and send on to other professionals (e.g. speech therapists, teachers, physicians, etc.), or anyone who you think can benefit from the information. If every member would send this on to at least 10 individuals think how many people we could reach! The benefit of the internet is that as you send the message on to others, hopefully they in turn will spread the word. However, please feel free to spread the word and celebrate the day in any way you feel will help: press releases to media, mailings to professionals or the public, or just talking with someone about what cluttering is. Let's keep the spirit and enthusiasm that was created nearly a year ago alive! Thanks for your help, and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Kathy

Kathleen Scaler Scott, M.S., CCC-SLP
Board Recognized Specialist and Mentor in Fluency Disorders
Doctoral Candidate, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Coordinator, International Cluttering Association
scalerscott1@earthlink.net

[Here is the starter for your message:]

What do you know about the communication disorder cluttering? This communication disorder is likely more common than we know. Many people with cluttering fail to be accurately diagnosed because of a lack of awareness of the disorder among the public and professionals alike.

As a group of people with cluttering and professionals with expertise in the area of cluttering, the International Cluttering Association (ICA) is working to change this lack of awareness. In honor of the year anniversary of its formation, the ICA is declaring Wednesday, May 14, 2008, as International Cluttering Awareness Day.

We’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to explore our website:
http://associations.missouristate.edu/ICA.  The website will provide you with more information about the communication disorder cluttering as well as links to some valuable resources. Audio and video clips are linked to the site to give examples of cluttering.

Please visit our website and share the information with others. In addition, if the ICA can be of assistance to you in providing further information, please do not hesitate to contact us through the website. Together, we can spread awareness of this very real communication disorder, which will help us move forward with treatments and research. We appreciate your help and interest in this endeavor.