Stammering in Senegal vs France – Melissa Bronsart and Martin Jandet

About the Authors: 

Melissa Bronsart -My name is Melissa, I am a 29 year old PWS living in Paris, France. My stutter used to be quite strong when I was a child, and in my teenage years. Thanks to speech therapy, group sessions and mostly acceptance, I managed to come to terms with it. Today, even though it is scarce, I am not ashamed anymore. I got into documentary film making and felt the duty to share about stuttering through my work as well. 

Martin Jandet – I started to admit my stammering at age 25. Before that it had been mild to medium and sometimes severe in specific situations. Since then, stammering has been part of the more global process of improving as a person and taking the long path towards acceptance and harmony. Martin is part of the French stammering association (APB), and has been involved in promoting this vision of stammering, in the self-help group in Paris and also in a video series that shows different ways of perceiving stammering according to the context – in different countries.

Is stuttering a problem or is it the context that makes a problem of this difference? By sharing their personal stories in Senegal and in France, Sidy and Lamine give us an inspiring answer and proof that both acceptance and giving up the fight are key to resilience and bouncing back.

 

 

 

Loading

Comments

Stammering in Senegal vs France – Melissa Bronsart and Martin Jandet — 10 Comments

  1. Thank you for this. Fascinating glimpse into context and attitudes/responses.
    🙂

  3. Great work Mélissa and Martin!
    It shows how culture and personal surroundings can affect our stutter

  4. Such an important glimpse into highlighting cultural context within the framings of disability!! This clip is making me look at the structure of where I live (USA). Foundational values of things like efficiency and communication, which are so linked to capitalism and individualism, are so entrenched within the suppression of difference and bodies that don’t match what the “ideal” person needs to be, and I’m noticing how those values have been ingrained into my perception of self and stuttering, among other identity markers such as my queerness. It is a lot of unlearning, but I watch this and am hopeful that the world will look to places like Senegal and notice the importance and power of seeing, marking, and centering people’s lived realities. THANK YOU!

  5. This video does a great job shedding light onto the effects culture can have on the way people view a disability. It is disheartening to see how much of a negative effect just moving to France had on their lives. They both went from accepting their stammer to feeling isolated and unworthy just due to the context of a new location. Something that really stood out to me was a statement made towards the end of the video. In regards to stuttering/stammering, one of the men stated, “understand it, accept it, and move on”. This is such a simple but bold statement and is something that many cultures should learn from. If people could take the time to learn about stuttering to have a better understanding of it could shift the stigma of it being a disability and create a greater sense of normalcy.

  7. The video still blows me away since I first came across it a number of months ago — a country where stuttering is considered normal? Senegal has a place in my heart!

  9. I love to learn from other countries, as cultural differences are so inspiring. The things we take for granted can be challenging in other parts of the world. Thanks for an insighful presentation.

    Stay safe and keep talking.

    Anita Blom