October can be a special month for people who stutter, those who work with them, their families, and their friends, because October 22 is International Stuttering Awareness Day. Awareness of stuttering goes a long way, as many people do not know much about stuttering and may have never heard a person stutter. Stuttering is a fairly low-incidence speech disorder, with about 1% incidence. Listeners’ reactions to stuttering can make interactions difficult for people who stutter. Young children who stutter are often teased and sometimes bullied because their speech is not fluent. Children start to feel shame about their speech and themselves and may choose to avoid communicating.
If people become more aware of stuttering, a conversation with a person who stutters may not take them off guard. People can respond to stuttering in many ways. They could become impatient and cut the person who stutters off, try to finish the person who stutter’s sentence, or give advice, such as “slow down.” More respectful ways of responding are to keep eye contact, have patience, and engage in communication.
One way to become aware of stuttering is to engage in the International Stuttering Awareness Day Conference. This conference is online and can be found at isad.live. The conference contains short papers written by people who stutter, and opportunities to interact with those writers and professionals who work with people who stutter. There is a section on the webpage for parents and teens, and also some creative work made by those who stutter. People can also get an idea of how stuttering is looked at across the world. The conference is live from October 1, and ends on International Stuttering Awareness Day on October 22. At Illinois State, undergraduate students taking the undergraduate stuttering course (Communication Sciences and Disorders 319) can visit the conference and write about their experiences for extra credit. Graduate students taking the graduate stuttering course (Communication Sciences and Disorders 418) complete an assignment and discussion by visiting the online conference.
Each year, the theme of the conference is different. For 2023, the theme is “One Size Does NOT Fit All.” This points to the uniqueness of each person who stutters. Stuttering is different for different people, and reactions to the disorder vary. Some may do all they can to avoid stuttering, which may mean avoiding speaking. Others may be more accepting of their stutter and may not hold back. Some may seek therapy, while others find help in support groups. It is important for the speech-language pathologist to learn about the individual needs of the client to do the most good.
Here’s hoping that many will find their way to the International Stuttering Awareness Day conference to learn more about stuttering from those who have the disorder.
