Educating Yorkshire show highlights difficulties faced by young people who stammer 

 

Last week Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire show highlighted the need to support young people who stammer in the classroom and through specialist speech and language support.

 

The episode featured Musharaf, who has a severe stammer, as he prepares for his GCSE English oral exam. His Assistant Head teacher, Mr Burton, is supporting him and tries a range of unusual tactics to help improve his fluency.

 

One in ten children and young people across the UK have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) that require support, that’s two – three in every classroom. More than one in a hundred children and young people have a stammer, at least one child in every three classrooms. (Ambien) For these children and young people to progress academically and socially at school, it is vital that support is put in place from the point they enter school.

 

The British Stammering Association (BSA) has developed a series of online resources that can help school staff and parents to implement successful support strategies and encourage students to become academically confident and have a greater self-awareness of their learning needs.

 

The resources, which should be tailored with an individual programme of support for each individual student, have the potential to reduce the negative impact of stammering at school. Research1 has previously highlighted that experiences at school are influential in the lives of stammerers and many people have been badly affected by their stammering at school.

 

Earlier in the week, to coincide with International Stammering Awareness Day, the BSA highlighted its recently launched Employers Stammering Network to stamp out stigma against the 300,000 people who stammer in the workplace.

The Employers Stammering Network

The Employers Stammering Network, backed by leading businesses EY (formerly Ernst & Young), Accenture and DHL, will provide advice and support on recruiting and supporting people with a stammer.

 

This network of major employers sign up and pay an annual fee to BSA. In return they receive information, support and advice for HR Departments and line managers on how to recruit and support people who stammer. It is a significant exercise in breaking down prejudice and barriers to employment and advancement. The Employers Stammering Network will do presentations and offer support in individual cases where employees who stammer may find certain tasks more difficult, focusing on solutions that will enable them to achieve their full potential.

 

It will also address many of the concerns that people who stammer have at work, such as those identified in a recent employee survey by BSA. For example, four out of five respondents said they’d welcome it if employers knew more about stammering. A large percentage often hold back what they consider to be good ideas and contributions because of their stammer. Almost 80% would like to be part of an extended network of people who stammer across companies and other employers.

 

This network will help the next generation of young people who stammer to enter into the workplace with more openness and confidence about discussing their stammer and the support they need to succeed.

 

How can ITS help you?

If you or a family member has a stammer, ITS can help. We would be happy to provide you with information regarding assessment as well as the most appropriate intervention including how long this may take.

How can I contact ITS?

Telephone: 0845 838 291. We are happy to provide a complimentary telephone consultation.

Confidential Enquiry Form

 

Further information

Heartwarming moment schoolboy with a debilitating stammer reduces classmates to tears with a speech he learned by copying techniques used in the King’s Speech http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477031/Heart-warming-moment-schoolboy-debilitating-life-long-stammer-reduced-classmates-tears-speech-learned-copying-techniques-used-Kings-Speech.html#ixzz2j2BspmXJInternational Stammering Awareness Day

https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/news/item/0/269/stammering-awareness-day/

The British Stammering Association http://stammering.org/

 

References

Butler, C., (2013) “University?… Hell No!” Stammering through Education. International Journal of Educational Research, (59) p57-65

 

Victoria Taylor

28/10/2013

Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.

 

I.T.S is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire, East Midlands and Southern England. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Psychotherapists

 


Related Content