International Stammering Awareness Day: Support and Resources from CLCH
Today (Friday 22 October 2021) is International Stammering Awareness Day – an annual event to raise awareness of stammering across the world.
According to figures from stutteringhelp.org, it is estimated that worldwide, around 70 million people have a stammer or stutter. This accounts for around one percent of the world's population.
To mark the day, CLCH's Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Team have compiled a list of fast facts from the team on stammering in children and adults:
- stammering affects eight percent of children between the ages of two to five years old. That’s 1 in every 12 children
- in the UK, up to three percent of adults stammer – this equates to around 1.5 million people
- around 60% of people who stammer have a family member who stammers
- stammering isn’t caused by nerves. It’s mainly a neurological and often hereditary condition
- learning to talk is like learning to walk – it doesn’t always go smoothly
- many children will stop stammering naturally or with the help of speech therapy
- what is clear is that parents do not cause stammering. But the way you respond to your child's stammer can make a real difference
A range of posters have been created by Stamma, the British Stammering Association, for use for pre-school and school-age pupils with a stammer, along with a guide for teachers on students who have a stammer. These posters can be downloaded using the links below:
For more information on stammering and support pages that are available, please visit the links below:
- British Stammering Association
- British Stammering Association Facebook Support Group
- UK Network for Parents of Children who Stammer
- Michael Palin Centre for Stammering
- Action for Stammering Children
Referral to Speech and Language Therapy: