Press release -
WORLD-WIDE CALL FOR 'THE RIGHT TO STUTTER'
STAMMA have joined with over 70 organisations around the globe calling for the 'Right to Stutter'.
They have signed a declaration which states “We may, or may not, choose to find support to sound fluent or stutter less. That is our right. It is not reasonable to expect or insist that we sound fluent. We stutter. That is how we talk”.
CEO of STAMMA Jane Powell said, “No organisation or media channel, can champion diversity if they don’t accept people who stammer talking in the way that they do. Currently there isn't space in our society for people who stammer. Media stories focus upon people 'overcoming' a stammer. Nor do we see adjustments routinely made to people who stammer at work, in interviews, oral exams or in accessing food and services. Stammering is just how some people talk"
On International Stammering Awareness Day, instead of asking questions about how people have ‘overcome’ their stammer, STAMMA are encouraging the media to understand that this is simply how some people talk. STAMMA’s message is by implying that people have greater value when they don't stammer can be damaging to their mental health, self-esteem and confidence, particularly among children.
Signing alongside STAMMA is the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.
According to a recent poll commissioned by STAMMA, 59% of those asked said they don’t know a character in a TV series or film who stammered and only 2% could name five characters. Sitting in the top five was Forrest Gump and Rain Man, neither of whom stammer. This data backs up STAMMA's call for the media to reflect the voices of people who stammer to dispel the stigma, myths and ignorance that surround stammering.
International organisations representing people who stammer have signed the Declaration, alongside national organisations from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mali, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Declaration has also been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Nepalese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (BR), Russian and Spanish.
The Declaration in full reads:
We, the undersigned, declare that people who stutter should be accepted as having a stutter. We may, or may not, choose to find support to sound fluent or stutter less. That is our right. It is not reasonable to expect or insist that we sound fluent. We stutter. That is how we talk.
In this time of diversity, adjustments are too often not given to those who stutter, be it at work, education or using everyday services. The expectation is rather that we should strive to ‘overcome’ our stutter and speak differently. As individuals we may wish, and even try, to do so. But as a community we refute the idea that we all stop stuttering.
No organisation can claim to value equality or diversity unless stuttering voices are permitted and valued. We call upon every organisation and institution to work with people who stutter to make sure that all of us are given the respect every person deserves; and that space is made for us.
It is our right to speak as we do.
50 Million Voices, International
Action for Stammering Children, United Kingdom
Alborz Atra Speech Therapy Clinic, Iran
Asian Association for Stuttering Organizations, International
Asociación Argentina de Tartamudez, Argentina
Associação Brasileira de Gagueira – ABRA Gagueira, Brazil
Association vaincre le bégaiement, Mali
Balbuzie allo Scoperto! – Supporto & Confronto, Italy
Belfast Stammer Support, Northern Ireland
BeneTalk, United Kingdom
BSV Belgian Stuttering Association, Belgium
Bulgarian Stuttering Association, Bulgaria
Bundesvereinigung Stottern & Selbsthilfe e.V., Germany
Canadian Stuttering Association, Canada
Centro Especializado en Tartamudez, Peru
CONTINUUM-TTM, Tartamudez Ecuador, Ecuador
De Stotterpraktijk, The Netherlands
Demosfen, Russia
Dutch Association for Speech and Language Therapy, The Netherlands
Estonian Stuttering Association, Estonia
Fluir+ Abordaje Clínico de la Tartamudez, Chile & Latin America
Friends – The National Association of Young People Who Stutter, United States
Fundación Colombiana de Tartamudez, Colombia
Fundacja Centrum Logopedyczne, Poland
Fundacja Wspierania Mowy i Komunikacji HALO, Poland
Ghana Stammering Association, Ghana
Habla Libre, Peru
Hong Kong Stuttering Support Group, Hong Kong
Independent Practice for Speech Therapy, Belgium
Indonesian Stuttering Community, Indonesia
International Stuttering Association, International
Israeli Stuttering Association, Israel
Jeanette van Baarsen Stottertherapie, The Netherlands
MI HABLA, MI TIEMPO, Peru
Myspeech, United States
National Stuttering Association, United States
Nederlandse stotter- en broddelvereniging Demosthenes, The Netherlands
Nederlandse Vereniging voor Stottertherapie, The Netherlands
Nepal Stutters’ Association, Nepal
Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association, Canada
Norsk interesseforening for stamming og løpsk tale, Norway
ONLUS – ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIANA BALBUZIE E COMUNICAZIONE, Italy
Pakistan Stammering Foundation, Pakistan
Portuguese Association of Stutterers, Portugal
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, United Kingdom
Rwanda Stuttering Organisation, Rwanda
SAY Global, Pakistan
SAY: The Stuttering Association For The Young Australia, Australia
Schneider Speech, United States
Scottish Stammering Network, Scotland
Shashi FIRE Holding, The Netherlands
Speakeasy South Africa, South Africa
Specialized Center for Stuttering, International
STAMMA, United Kingdom
Stammeforeningen i Danmark, Denmark
Stammeklinikkene – Center logopedi AS, Norway
Stammertalk 口吃说, China
Stammerers Through University Consultancy, United Kingdom
Stamningsförbundet, Sweden
Stamurai, India
Stichting StotterFonds, The Netherlands
Stottercentrum Noord, The Netherlands
Stottercentrum Utrecht, The Netherlands
Stottertherapie In Verbinding, The Netherlands
Stuttering Awareness Mental Well-being Ireland, Ireland
Stuttering Society, Belgium
Suomen änkytysyhdistys ry, Finland
The Evolution and Voice Science Lab, United Kingdom
The Indian Stammering Association, India
Vereinigung für Stotternde und Angehörige, Switzerland
Voce InForma – Centro Vocologico Internazionale, Italy
withVR, International
World Stuttering Network, International
*In the UK the term used is ‘stammer’. For most of the rest of the world the term used is ‘stutter’. The words are interchangeable and mean the same thing. Stammering is when someone repeats, prolongs or gets stuck when trying to say sounds or words.
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Our Purpose
We exist to create a world that makes space for stammering. Where it's embraced as just a difference. Where no-one judges your stammer or the way you choose to deal with it. We’ll get there by bringing people together, whether they stammer or not, to propel a movement for change.
We will stand up for and embolden those who stammer, provide support and information, and challenge discrimination wherever we find it. We’ll fight for NHS speech and language therapy services for those want it. No matter how you talk, we're here for you.
Join us and help the public understand that stammering is not a sign of being drunk, dishonest, nervous or weak. It’s simply how some of us talk.
