Let’s talk About Stammering

In society there is misunderstanding about stammering.
Due to this, Kath Bond, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Dave Barraclough, Learning Developer, and Bradford University have joined forces to increase awareness, break stigma and educate. In her years of working as a speech and language therapist, Kath has been frustrated with the overwhelming need for education about stammering across a broad range of people working in the areas of education, health and social care. Disappointingly, an older pupil she recently worked with was told repeatedly by his GP as a young child that he would “grow out of it” and another was incorrectly diagnosed as having a learning disability. 

From this, ‘About Stammering’, an innovative eLearning package, was created to bust myths and highlight evidence-based facts about stammering. Crucially, it challenges current negative attitudes and responses to stammering in society, enabling a more stammer-friendly world through an engaging, non-judgmental approach.

Involving the local people of Bradford was important in developing the tool. Graphic design and animation students from Bradford University helped to create engaging visuals, and people who stammer in Bradford also contributed ideas, opinions, artwork and most importantly their voices. As the interactive tool promotes empathy and empowerment, our strapline ‘Better lives, together’ certainly has been the driving inspiration of this project.

The tool is free for anyone to use and if you’d like to have a go, staff can visit ESR learning and search for ‘About stammering’. People external to the Trust can register at: https://www.bdcftelearning.co.uk/