17 October 2022

International Stammering Awareness Day is nearly here on 22 October, and there are several ways you can help raise awareness. 

Stammering occurs when there are interruptions in the natural flow of speech, characterised by a tense struggle to say some sounds and words. You may hear one or more of the following:

  • Repetitions of sounds or words
  • Prolongations (stretching sounds)
  • Blocks (where the person appears to speak but no sounds come out)

To mark Stammering Awareness Day, the Ealing Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) team are:

  1. Tweeting facts about stammering and ways that you can support someone who stammers
  2. Posting stammering awareness Instagram stories
  3. Check out this video below by the Ealing SLT team on ways you can support someone who stammers
  4. Some desktop backgrounds will change to remind you to be stammering aware
  5. All schools in Ealing will receive a pack of resources including a pre-recorded stammering awareness assembly for all children and staff to watch, telling them about stammering and how to support children who stammer

Check out this short video with an SLT who stammers, talking about her journey with stammering.

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Did you know?

  • About 5 per cent of all children stammer, usually between the ages of 2 to 4 years
  • About 1 per cent of adults in the UK stammer
  • More boys than girls stammer into adulthood
  • Stammering has no link with socioeconomic status, linguistic background or intelligence

Stammering is not a condition or a disability. It is on the continuum of normal speech. By increasing our own understanding of stammering and reducing our anxieties and worries about it, we remove a lot of the barriers to someone who stammers, speaking with confidence.

Here are ways that you can help:

  • Keep eye-contact with the person when they stammer and continue to show interest so they know you are listening.
  • Give them plenty of time to finish what they are saying. Avoid interrupting or trying to finish sentences for them.  
  • Ask them how they would like you to support them

For further information: