Our History
For decades, SAY (formerly Our Time Theatre Company) has offered innovative, life-changing programs for young people who stutter, along with vital support for their parents and caregivers, educators, and speech professionals. Taro Alexander, renowned actor, director, teacher, and person who stutters, founded the organization in 2001 to provide a truly unique and accepting environment for children who stutter.
SAY’s Milestones
OCTOBER – 2001
Our Time’s first art program begins.
Our Time Theatre Company, a home for young people who stutter, is founder by Taro Alexander. SAY’s innovative year-round programming began with an emphasis on the performing arts, with children writing their own plays and songs that they later performed for parents, friends, and the public. Songwriting, poetry, and spoken word have been added, enabling children and teens who stutter to express themselves in more and more ways! Over time, these programs have expanded into a broad range of confidence-building activities.
2002
Our Time hosts its first program show, and it’s a sell-out.
2003
First Annual Benefit Gala honors Austin Pendleton in NYC.
Austin Pendleton is an actor, playwright, and person who stutters. This frist annual gala raised funds for Our Time’s life-saving programs.
2008
Camp Our Time is established, welcoming 27 campers from across the US!
Camp Our Time, a two-week summer camp for young people who stutter, opened it’s doors in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Now known as Camp SAY, young people can meet other children who stutter from across the U.S. and beyond.
2009
Our Time releases LISTEN: Album
Listen: A Benefit Album For ‘Our Time’ is released, featuring various artists like Holly Brook, Carly Simon, and Daryl Hall & John Oates. The album, a collection of 15 original songs, was written by young people who stutter and was recorded by iconic artists across all musical genres.
2011
SAY: Speech Therapy program is created.
SAY’s Speech Therapy program was established under the leadership of a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who is uniquely experienced in working with children who stutter.
2012
Paul Rudd hosts the 1st Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit
Back in 2006, while preparing for a Broadway role as a character who stuttered, Paul Rudd reached out to SAY Founder Taro Alexander and met the incredible young people in our community. That meeting changed everything.
Since then, Paul has become one of SAY’s biggest champions — performing with participants, serving on our Board, and hosting the beloved Paul Rudd Bowling Benefit to support our life-changing programs.
2018
Camp SAY: Across the USA begins!
Camp SAY: Across the USA began in 2018, in an effort to bring our programs to more young people who stutter in cities across the country, like Memphis, Houston, Los Angeles, and more.
2019
SAY: DC is founded.
SAY: DC launched in our nation’s capital in 2019, bringing a new year-round program to kids and teens who stutter in the Washington, DC area.
Since our founding, our leadership team has presented important information about stuttering in a broad range of settings across the world, including educational institutions such as Columbia University, NYU, CUNY, and more; New York City Department of Education Staff Development Days; conferences & conventions including the National Stuttering Association Conferences across the US; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention; Friends Conferences (from New Jersey to San Francisco); the International Fluency Association World Congress in Montreal & Dublin; and VSA Arts in Washington, D.C.
SAY’s innovative year-round programming began with an emphasis on the performing arts and expanded to a broad range of confidence building activities.
We have received several prestigious awards including the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the Charles Van Riper Award from the National Council on Communicative Disorders (awarded at the Kennedy Center), and a Special Citation from the NY State Speech-Language Hearing Association.
Our organization is featured frequently in the press, including: The Meredith Vieira Show, ABC News, CBS Sunday Morning, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, TODAY, 20/20, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and many more.
Please visit our press area to see these exciting features and more.
Support SAY
We believe every voice matters. Please help us continue to transform lives!
