22nd October: International Stammering Awareness Day

by David Yates, Head of Acoustics, Syntegra Group

This years’ International Stammering Awareness Day (ISAD) is being used by STAMMA to launch their latest campaign "Don’t Jump In", which calls for more awareness of the additional time people who stammer may need to talk, particularly on the phone, and encourages people to not jump in with suggestions which although normally well intentioned, quite often has a negative impact.

For more information about the campaign, and about stammering in general please visit the STAMMA website https://stamma.org/

Last year we launched the IOA Stammering Support Network, which aims to provide a place for those professionals involved in acoustics across the UK who stammer to come together in a mutually supportive environment. We invite fellow acousticians who also stammer to discuss concerns they may have about carrying out their role, where speech may be an important aspect. Through sharing our experiences and insights we hope to provide support to acousticians in all levels of their career where there may be some challenges around speaking fluently.

The group is also open to those involved in acoustics who wish to seek advice in respect of stammering for an employee, colleague, or even friend or family member. All those who stammer are different and it may be that the best thing we can do for an individual is to sign post to the most useful information on the STAMMA website.

The Support Network is set up as a Private Group in LinkedIn. The group will remain unlisted so that it does not appear on member's profiles, to allow discretion on the subject for those who require discretion. To gain access to the group the easiest way is to connect with me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/dave-yates-acoustics) and send me a private message, I can then invite you to the group.