International Stuttering Awareness Day 2020: Date, Theme & Activities

International Stuttering Awareness Day or International Stammering Awareness Day (ISAD) is celebrated on October 22 every year to raise awareness about stuttering. The theme for this year is " A World That Understands stuttering," which highlights the importance of educating the public and bringing hope to people who stutter.

The National Stuttering Association started in 1977, dedicated to bringing hope and empowerment to children and adults who stutter. Every year, stuttering communities and associations around the world get together, put on events and campaign to highlight how certain aspects of society can be difficult for people who stammer; to challenge negative attitudes and discrimination; and to debunk myths that people who stammer are nervous or less intelligent.

ISAD also celebrates the many notable figures who stammer who have made a mark on the world now and throughout history in the fields of science, politics, philosophy, art, cinema, and music.

International Stuttering Awareness Day Activities

ISAD includes an online conference, running annually from October 1 to 22 each year, targeted at people with an interest in stuttering as well as speech-language pathologists and their clients. The conferences, held every year since 1998, are all still available online.

It also includes public awareness events, a media campaign, educational activities, and online resources.

In an article published in the UK magazine Community Care to mark International Stuttering Awareness Day, Irina Papencheva from the Bulgarian Stuttering Association and Phil Madden from the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities demanded a fresh start in attitudes towards stammering, saying that "everyone has the responsibility to be aware, to be sensitive in our conversations and meetings" and to remember that stuttering is "not funny"

Reference: wikipedia