Stammering is a trade union issue

Gary Clark

22 October is International Stammering Awareness Day, when stammering and stuttering organisations try to raise awareness.

Around 40,000 adults stammer, and 8% of children – over one million – will stammer at some point during their childhood.

There are lots of myths around stammering, including that it is due to lack of intelligence or nerves. But the latest research shows its likely to be a part of the brain not working correctly, which could be a similar part of the brain to that which is linked to dyslexia and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Though I am now a fluent and confident public speaker, like many people who stammer I have faced bullying, ridicule and discrimination. There is nothing that can be said to me that I have not heard before. Stammering must be one of the few conditions where it’s still viewed by some as OK to ridicule and discriminate against people.

Mass media is full of examples of stammerers portrayed as weak, lacking intelligence, or a bit strange. Many of us are pigeonholed into certain jobs where we don’t need to verbally communicate with others, and how we are treated leads to many stammerers pigeonholing themselves. You might not be aware of everyone around you who stammers as many are in the background trying not to be heard and scared to speak. Many use ‘word avoidance’, thinking a few sentences ahead to look out for words to avoid, which is very mentally tiring. 

Equality at work

But stammering is a disability. As it lasts more than a year and impacts on people’s day to day lives, many stammerers would come under the equality at work legislation and could get reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

I started stammering from my earliest memory and really struggled with it growing up. But I got involved in the labour movement aged 17 and I joined with Militant (forerunner of the Socialist Party). Though I went through many struggles, I stopped thinking about my stammer, and I have been determined to be active and take part in the battles in the trade union movement. Now I am retired, I volunteer as the trade union liaison officer for STAMMA, the leading stammering charity, and am raising stammering as a trade union issue. 

I have also thought why should people who stammer be pressured to be more fluent? A stammer is only a way over 70 million people speak worldwide, and it’s only society which says to ‘fit in’ you need to speak better. I support the movement ‘Stammering Pride’. We should say, out and proud: ‘Yes, I stammer, and that’s who I am’.

I believe we should be celebrating people who stammer and the role they play in society. We should fight for a society that welcomes differences without mocking and abuse.

But at the same time we should support those who want to change their own fluency by fighting for workplace adjustments, resources and funding, including for speech and language therapists.