Declaration of the Right to Stutter
On ISAD 2022, journalists will write again about the people who have ‘overcome’ their stutter. As usual, this enforces the expectation that we all should and can strive towards fluency. It makes no sense. First, it is OUR choice whether or not to attempt to stutter less. Second, most of us will never be fluent and that’s fine. We stutter. It’s our natural voice.
The ‘Declaration of the Right to Stutter’ is a joint statement, to be press released in each country on October 22, ISAD (“being seen, being heard”). It can be signed by any stuttering organization on: stamily.org/declarationrighttostutter/
Declaration of the Right to Stutter
We, the undersigned, declare that people who stutter should be accepted as having a stutter. We may, or may not, choose to find support to sound fluent or stutter less. That is our right. It is not reasonable to expect or insist that we sound fluent. We stutter. That is how we talk.
In this time of diversity, adjustments are too often not given to those who stutter, be it at work, education or using everyday services. The expectation is rather that we should strive to ‘overcome’ our stutter and speak differently. As individuals we may wish, and even try, to do so. But as a community we refute the idea that we all stop stuttering.
No organization can claim to value equality or diversity unless stuttering voices are permitted and valued. We call upon every organization and institution to work with people who stutter to make sure that all of us are given the respect every person deserves; and that space is made for us.
It is our right to speak as we do.
Thank you for making a very nice declaration. Stuttering is one of the diversities of speech. The listener’s understanding of stuttering will help the confidence of the person who stutters.
Greetings. Very very interesting this statement.
I hope I have grasped the meaning and have not omitted any.
I agree that, just as efforts are made by associations to offer help to “stop stammering” (and this is not the place to talk about how genuine they are or not) we should also invest in making people understand who PWS really are, behond the stuttering itself , making a stutterer better known and helping PWS to integrate better and “normalize” diversity, making it a part of the whole. I hope I understand, and I agree. I completely agree.
But I don’t really agree on one thing. In this document you refer to the fact that not everyone wants to “fixed” but just to be like that and be accepted by people, don’t be people have to be “correct” but just accepted. If you speak on behalf of a “community” you must also understand, however, that in a community there are people who accept their status as a stutterer in a perhaps different way, people who are proud of who they are but not fully happy with their difficulty. Should we therefore blame them for looking for a “strategy” to be happier or to reduce the “weight” anyway? if you don’t like “happy” and “sad” words. These people are also part of the community and their point of view must also be accepted. I hope I have put my concept through. I hope I have interpreted this post correctly. And thank you for the work you all are doing until our voice is heard.
I was moved by this declaration and I respect it. It reminded me of the issues deaf people deal with in society. People are constantly pushing them to verbalize or get a hearing aid and their culture or way of communicating isn’t fully respected. PWS are experiencing a similar reality. How they communicate is seen “unfortunate” and like it needs to be “fixed”. So this declaration opened my mind and I now realize that some PWS are happy just the way they are.