International Stuttering Awareness Day - 22 October.

International Stuttering Awareness Day - 22 October.

International Stuttering Awareness Day is observed globally on 22nd October every year. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people who have a speech disorder of stuttering or stammering.

This year’s theme is “Journey of Words – Resilience and Bouncing Back”.

The primary purpose of International Stuttering Awareness Day is to:

• Change public attitudes and eliminate societal discrimination toward people who stutter

• Promote the self-esteem and opportunities of people who stutter to reach goals and aspirations

• Build a community and provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and strengthen the relationship among researchers, people who stutter, clinicians and parents of children who stutter

More than 70 million people around the world stutter. This means that while talking, they repeat syllables, sounds or words. People who stutter also prolong sounds or experience unwanted interruptions in their speech. They know what they want to say, but are unable to produce a normal flow of speech. This disorder usually affects children between the ages of 2 and 6. This is when they are producing their language skills.

International Stuttering Awareness Day got its beginnings in 1995 during an International Stuttering Association (ISA) conference in Sweden. The ISA had placed an International Stuttering Awareness Day on its wish list. In 1997, a day was set aside during an International Fluency Conference in California for professionals to learn from those who stutter. During the closing ceremony, Michael Sugarman, co-founder of the National Stuttering Project, stated there should be an international day set aside for stuttering awareness. In 1998, the European League of Stuttering Associations, International Fluency Association, and International Stuttering Association designated October 22nd as International Stuttering Awareness Day.

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