The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research

What The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research does

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research is a university-based non-profit center within The University of Texas at Austin, established in October 2020 with a $20 million grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. It operates as the largest university-based center dedicated exclusively to stuttering education and research, building on the prior Lang Stuttering Institute and the Dr. Jennifer and Emanuel Bodner Developmental Stuttering Laboratory (endowed in 2012). The center delivers the proprietary Blank Center CARE Model (Communication, Advocacy, Resiliency, Education), a whole-person treatment approach developed over more than 20 years that reframes stuttering therapy away from fluency elimination toward communication competence, advocacy skills, resilience, and knowledge empowerment. It is supported by 100+ peer-reviewed publications and replicates its manualized Camp Dream. Speak. Live. intensive protocol across at least eight countries.

The center serves individuals who stutter ages 2 through 90+ and their families worldwide, plus speech-language pathology students, practicing clinicians, and school districts. Core service offerings include semester-based Daily CARE Programming (in-person in Austin and Atlanta, plus virtual), Camp Dream. Speak. Live., the Pay-It-Forward Mentorship Program, Community CARE, and HER-Story & HIS-Story programs targeting Black communities. Commercial productized assets sold via an online storefront include the CARE Manual ($75 physical / $40 digital), the CARE Assessment ($30), CARE Manual + Assessment Bundle ($90), Caregiver and Teacher Proxy Forms ($25 each), and a Professional Toolkit ($15) bundling the CARE Tracker and Classroom/Home bundles. Training is delivered through STEPS (Simulated Training in Evidence-Based Practice for Stuttering), a learning platform with 1,000+ clinical videos.

Revenue mechanics are characteristic of a non-profit: treatment is provided at no cost to participants worldwide, while operating funds come from individual and corporate donations (including naming opportunities and planned giving), foundation grants including NIH funding, and modest direct revenue from CARE materials. The center employs 27 people, trains 150+ students annually, distributes 75+ scholarships annually, and reports presence in 35+ countries.

Name

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research

Legal name

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research

Website

https://blankcenterforstuttering.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research is a non-profit university center at UT Austin that delivers the proprietary CARE Model — a whole-person, evidence-based stuttering treatment — at no cost to individuals of all ages in 35+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speech-Language Pathology Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAKAEAG

Fluency (Stuttering/Cluttering) Services (School-Age)

Education/Special Education & Learning Support Services/Speech-Language Therapy Services (School-Age)

Keywords

• Stuttering treatment
• Speech therapy services
• Speech-language pathology
• Clinical research training
• Communication therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Giving: The Blank Center is a university-based nonprofit center at The University of Texas at Austin that relies on donations from individuals, corporate matching, and planned giving. Donors can give online, by mail, or by phone. The center also offers naming opportunities within its spaces in Austin and Atlanta, as well as endowment establishment options.
2. CARE Materials Store: The center generates revenue through the sale of CARE Model manuals, assessments, proxy forms, and professional toolkit digital downloads. Materials include the CARE Manual ($75 physical / $40 digital), CARE Assessment ($30), Bundle ($90-$105), Caregiver and Teacher Proxy Forms ($25 each), and Professional Toolkit downloads ($15). All proceeds support programming worldwide.
3. Foundation Grants: The center was established with a $20 million grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Ongoing research is funded by NIH and several state, national, and international foundations. Research grants support the center's etiology, evaluation, and treatment research programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Blank Center delivers no-cost, evidence-based stuttering treatment worldwide through the proprietary CARE Model (Communication, Advocacy, Resiliency, Education), serving individuals of all ages via in-person and virtual programming, annual intensive camps, and peer mentorship. It also generates field-changing research on the nature and treatment of stuttering and provides specialized training, clinical tools, and assessment materials to speech-language pathologists and students.

Product overview

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research operates as a unified treatment and research center offering the Blank Center CARE Model™ as its core framework. The CARE Model™ is a whole-person treatment approach centered on Communication, Advocacy, Resiliency, and Education pillars. Core service products include Daily CARE Programming (semester-based therapy), Camp Dream. Speak. Live. (annual intensive program), Pay-It-Forward Mentorship, and Community CARE. The Center also provides commercial products including the CARE Manual ($75), CARE Assessment ($30), Caregiver/Teacher Proxy Forms ($25 each), Professional Toolkit ($15), and bundled offerings. The CARE Manual + Assessment Bundle ($90) pairs the assessment tool with the manual for comprehensive treatment planning. Supporting materials include the CARE Tracker, CARE in the Classroom Bundle, and CARE at Home Bundle for progress monitoring and stakeholder engagement. Specialized programs like HER-Story & HIS-Story address culturally responsive care at the intersection of race and stuttering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Camp Dream. Speak. Live. Annual evidence-based intensive therapy program for children and teens who stutter. The protocol has been manualized and the positive results have been replicated worldwide at additional locations.
• CARE Model
• CARE Manual
• CARE Assessment
• Pay-It-Forward Mentorship
• STEPS
• HER-Story & HIS-Story
• Dr. Jennifer and Emanuel Bodner Developmental Stuttering Laboratory

Products and services

• CARE Model The Blank Center's proprietary whole-person treatment approach for stuttering, focused on Communication, Advocacy, Resiliency, and Education pillars. Provided at no cost to individuals of all ages worldwide through in-person and virtual delivery.
• Daily CARE Programming Semester-based CARE programming offering virtual and in-person age-based group sessions, supplementary individual sessions, and caregiver/family support for participants ages 2 to 90+.
• Camp Dream. Speak. Live. Annual week-long intensive therapy program for children and teens who stutter, delivered at multiple U.S. and international locations by trained local institutional partners.
• Pay-It-Forward Mentorship Peer-to-peer mentorship program providing participants of all ages with weekly support, collaborative advocacy projects, leadership opportunities, and self-confidence building.
• Community CARE A weekly virtual program open to caregivers, partners, teachers, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals as a safe space for guidance and support.
• HER-Story & HIS-Story Programs Signature programs creating intentional spaces for connection, reflection, and growth for Black girls/women and Black boys/men who stutter, navigating identity and communication at the intersection of race and stuttering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants report increased self-perception and listener perception of overall communication effectiveness
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fundacja Centrum Logopedyczne (Poland)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Fundacja Centrum Logopedyczne, a Polish speech therapy foundation, partnered with the Blank Center to host the inaugural Camp Dream. Speak. Live. Poland at the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2024. The partnership adapted the CARE Model to the Polish cultural and linguistic context, with multiple therapists and coordinators from the foundation trained in CARE principles. The camp has sparked broader cultural shifts in how speech therapy is practiced in Poland.
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout (PGA Tour Golfer)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Professional golfer and Olympian Christiaan Bezuidenhout serves as a Blank Center Global Ambassador. He showcases the Blank Center logo on his golf bag and participates in initiatives, events, and programs to educate the general public, reduce stuttering stigmatization, and facilitate access to the CARE treatment approach. His personal journey with stuttering and success as a professional athlete serves as an inspirational model for the stuttering community worldwide.
• University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Silesia in Katowice hosted the inaugural Camp Dream. Speak. Live. Poland in 2024. Researchers and students from the university participated in the camp, with students trained in CARE principles and bringing the philosophy back to their institutions across Poland. The partnership is part of the center's international expansion of evidence-based stuttering treatment.
• National Stuttering AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Blank Center collaborates with the National Stuttering Association on its monthly local chapter meetings, extending community support and education to individuals who stutter and their families through the Bodner Developmental Stuttering Lab.
• International CARE Implementers (Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Malta, Pakistan, Israel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpeech-language pathologists and researchers in countries including the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Malta, Pakistan, and Israel have implemented the CARE Model and hosted Camp Dream. Speak. Live. programs in their respective countries, adapting the model to local cultural contexts while maintaining its core principles. These partnerships enable the global expansion of the center's evidence-based treatment approach.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• SpeechEasy: Provider of anti-stuttering devices and fluency-related products. Comparable as an adjacent player serving people who stutter, though it competes with the CARE philosophy through a device-based rather than whole-person treatment approach.
• Friends Who Stutter (Chicago Chapter / National): Community-based self-help network for people who stutter with local chapter meetings. Comparable as a grassroots stuttering support ecosystem overlapping with the Blank Center's community programming.

Direct peers

• National Stuttering Association: The largest U.S. support organization for people who stutter, operating local chapter meetings and community programming. Highly comparable as a community-driven stuttering nonprofit that the Blank Center actively collaborates with.
• Stuttering Foundation of America: Long-standing nonprofit dedicated to stuttering research, treatment information, and public education. Closely comparable mission to the Blank Center, including free resources, training materials, and support for people who stutter worldwide.
• SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young: Nonprofit providing support programs, summer camps, and advocacy for young people who stutter. Directly comparable as a youth-focused stuttering nonprofit offering camp-style programming.
• FRIENDS (National Association of Young People Who Stutter): Nonprofit organization supporting children, teens, and families affected by stuttering through national programming and events. Comparable as a peer stuttering support and advocacy organization.

Broad incumbents

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): The national professional, credentialing, and advocacy association for audiologists and speech-language pathologists. Comparable as the dominant institutional force in speech-language pathology, including stuttering, against whose guidelines the Blank Center's CARE Model competes and aligns.
• Purdue University Stuttering Project: University-based research and clinical program on stuttering led by Dr. Anne Smith. Comparable as another major academic stuttering research and training center, competing for research funding, talent, and clinical visibility.
• Michigan State University Stuttering Lab: University research group focused on the nature and treatment of stuttering. Comparable as an academic stuttering research center operating in the same evidence-based, clinical-translation space as the Blank Center.

Regional players

• Stuttering Therapy Services (private practices): Specialized private practices and clinicians offering stuttering therapy in regional markets. Comparable as fee-based clinical service providers competing for the same population of clients who stutter.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCr3TPjYkrwuaZx9qJ8ETHXA
• Facebookfacebook.com/blankcenterstuttering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-arthur-m-blank-center-for-stuttering-education-and-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/blankcenterstuttering

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research