22nd October International Stuttering Awareness Day

International Stuttering Awareness Day provides hope to people who stutter by showing them they're not alone and by providing them with resources to improve their speech. It connects individuals with research and speech pathologists.

Stuttering is a disruption in speech pattern involving disruptions, or dysfluencies, in a person’s speech, but there are nearly as many ways to stutter as there are people who stutter. 

• People who stutter may experience repetitions (D-d-d-dog), prolongations (Mmmmmmilk), or blocks (an absence of sound), or can experience some combination of these sounds.
• The severity of stuttering varies widely among individuals.
• It affects one percent of the world's population.
• Stuttering is about three or four times more common in males than females.
• There is no reliable, research-backed “cure” that works consistently, over time, and for all people who stutter.
• Although there is no simple cure for stuttering, people who stutter can learn to speak more easily, feel better about themselves and their speaking ability, and communicate more effectively.

There are several famous people who stuttered as a child or adult. Read about them here or in their biography from the Little People Big Dreams series.

• Rowan Atkinson

• Nicole Kidman

• Marilyn Monroe  (LPBD)

• Sam  Neill

• Elvis Presley (LPBD)

• Shaquille O'Neal

• Lewis Carroll

• Charles Darwin (LPBD)

• Alan Turing (LPBD)

• Alan Rabinowitz

• Tiger Woods

• Ed Sheeran

There are two books in the library that also highlight 'stuttering' in a sensitive but beautiful way.

Both won the Schneider Family Book Award which is an award given by the American Library Association (ALA) recognising authors and illustrators for the excellence of portrayal of the disability experience in literature for youth.

See

• A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz and Catia Chien

Speaking for the animals he loves gives one boy's life hope, purpose, and truth in this gorgeous picture book autobiography. 

Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion--their voice--but he stutters uncontrollably. 

Except when he talks to animals...then he is fluent. 

• I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognise a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him. 

Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, 

You might also be able to find When Oliver Speaks  by Kimberly Garvin and Saadiq Wicks

A heartfelt story about a young boy who struggles to overcome his stutter while finding the courage to accept it. 

When Oliver Speaks, is the story of an underdog who learns to rise. The story comes from a place of personal experience in that co-author Saadiq is a person who stutters and has done so for as long as he could speak. 

Something to say about Stuttering  by Eden Moline and Nathalie Beauvoir

Alex loves dirt biking, soccer, and helping his mom with his little sister. He also happens to stutter. Alex shares what it is like for him when he stutters, as well as ways to help make communication a little easier.