STAMMA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR PEOPLE WHO STAMMER TO BE GIVEN SPACE TO TALK

Today, STAMMA, the UK’s national stammering charity, launched a campaign demanding people who stammer be given space to talk, whether they are ordering a coffee, booking a GP appointment... or returning a coffin.

Marking International Stammering Awareness Day this Sunday, 22nd October, STAMMA have released their findings which show how unhelpful responses from call handlers or voice recognition systems can make simple tasks like booking a GP appointment extremely distressing for people who stammer. Facing being repeatedly hung up on, cut-off or misdiagnosed, this can lead to people who stammer delaying or simply not making those calls in the first place.

Don’t be a knob. Don't jump in

As part of the campaign, STAMMA has released a satirical film to mark International Stammering Awareness Day. The campaign, developed by creative agency VMLY&R London, draws attention to the daily struggles faced by customers who stammer in simple interactions with companies, such as returning an item.

The offbeat film follows Debbie, who’s phoning customer services to return a coffin only to be frustrated by an automated system that doesn’t allow her to finish and a hapless agent who constantly speaks over her and gets her name wrong. It ends with the exhortation ‘Don’t be a company full of knobs’. The ad's call to action lands on stamma.org/training (or stamma.org/DontBeAKnob) which offers training materials and workshops to help organisations improve their engagement with people who stammer.

Jane Powell, CEO at STAMMA said “People who stammer face being interrupted, hung up on and having their sentences finished on a daily basis. Whether it’s ordering a coffee, returning an item or reporting a lost credit card; what should be a straightforward experience can be made a nightmare when staff are unprepared for people who stammer. We want to end this.”

As part of their research for the campaign, STAMMA found that 54% of people who stammer experienced mental distress around using the phone to book GP appointments.

One member related how he had experienced the phone being hung up on him multiple times as he tried to speak, calling it “really demeaning and humiliating”. One described their frustration, "I just wanted to scream - why are you making it so difficult for me?" Another wrote “they actually refused to speak to me about my own medical condition as I was "being hesitant" when giving my date of birth so they believed I was not the patient.“

The campaign also features a set of vibrant comedic typographic posters designed by London-based illustrator BIFF. Each one humorously plays on the impatience people who stammer face when others finish their sentences with the wrong words.

The campaign is running in partnership with JCDecaux digital Out-of-Home screens across the country, as well as Pearl & Dean who will showcase the ad in cinemas nationwide next January.

STAMMA have multiple case studies based across the UK who are willing to share their experiences with GP appointment booking systems.