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Dylan Davies has a stammer and reflects on some of his experiences and thoughts on the upcoming Stammafest in Liverpool.
Stammering has long been seen as a device to make people laugh and to indicate dishonesty or low intelligence, but that’s simply not true. I proudly stammer. It has taken me a while to get to this point, yet I am glad I have, because it is not something to be ashamed of. However, there is still a strong stigma around stammering. Luckily, that is changing thanks to the work of charities like STAMMA.
From the 24th to the 28th of August, Liverpool will come alive as STAMMAFest 2022 is held at the University of Liverpool. This event combines the 14th World Congress of the International Stuttering Association (ISA) and STAMMA’s biennial conference.
STAMMAFest is a great opportunity for stammerers and speech therapists to come together to discuss their experiences, and to develop new strategies to support stammerers when needed. Over these 4 days, attendees will be able to take advantage of plenary sessions, which discuss everything from tips for the workplace to how to change the way the world sees stammering. They can also attend a family day where children and teenagers can meet with no pressure and give information to parents on how to best support their children. However, it’s not all just conferences and guest speakers. Attendees can also take a sightseeing tour around Liverpool, attend a quiz night, and go to the STAMMAFest social, where you can listen to live music and try food from around the world. Unfortunately, I won't be attending this conference, but I will still be supporting the cause through the STAMMA Youth Panel.
I have been a member of the STAMMA Youth Panel for almost 5 months now, and I have loved every minute of it. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has forced me to confront my stammer and the stigma around it. As part of the youth panel, I make TikTok videos talking about my experiences with a stammer, and provide information about how to live with a stammer. Having never made videos using TikTok before, it was a brand new experience that I would probably have been too scared to try without the support of the panel.
It’s odd to think that, a year ago, I would avoid talking to anyone about my stammer and ignore it whenever I could. Though, thanks to my family, I was eventually referred for speech therapy through the NHS, which sparked my newfound confidence that I am thankful for each day. During my sessions with my speech therapist, we discussed techniques that I now use on a day-to-day basis to communicate with the people and world around me. I now try to take deep breaths and speak more softly, which I probably would never have tried without her. Words can’t describe how much she helped me over our sessions, and I will never forget how she was the first person to treat my stammer as something not to be hidden, but celebrated.
If you are reading this article and you stammer, you’re not alone. According to the NHS, 1 in 100 adults has a stammer. Shocking, right? When I first saw this statistic, I was surprised. Having met thousands of people in my life, I had never met anyone who stammered until my first meeting with the STAMMA Youth Panel. It just goes to show how common stammering is, and thus shouldn’t be hidden.
Stammering is part of my life and many others’. It can be a daunting thing at first, but it is important to know that you have the support of family and charities like STAMMA to help you face any challenge in your life. Follow STAMMA on all their social media pages and look out for the next TikTok from their youth panel where we will be posting videos giving advice and support to stammerers and their family and friends!
STAMMA can be found on TikTok here!