s of trying to combat a societal mentality that normalises the occurrence of a stammer as something akin to the jitters or stage fright. It's harmful to reinforce that this is the case and only serves to further intensify the nerves which someone who stammers may have when speaking in public.
There needs to be more awareness and education amongst students and teachers alike to provide them with the knowledge as to what a stammer is and how to create the most comfortable environment as possible to allow someone who stammers to feel confident and to thrive. For a long time I have been a big proponent of this approach, having written articles to this effect and doing speeches at my old primary school encouraging children to have a bit more patience with those who stammer and how to recognise the signs. This is still a dialogue that remains relevant and crucial.
Where a teacher is taught to understand how to interact with students who have dyslexia or other physical disabilities, they should similarly be trained as to how to create a comfortable environment for someone who stammers too.
For teachers like the above, their ignorance or lack of awareness as to how best to handle a person who stammers is inexcusable. Where a teacher is taught to understand how to interact with students who have dyslexia or other physical disabilities, they should similarly be trained as to how to create this aforementioned comfortable environment for someone who stammers too. Far too commonly they are not, and this is the sad reality we face as a society.
In my experience, for young children this education is an altogether more difficult task. They haven't yet developed the social awareness to always exercise empathy, so are more likely to make missteps in their approach. Their instincts are predominately to mock things they don't understand and changing this mentality is something which can only be done through maturity and experience. I found this to be the case when I spoke with children about this very topic, their innocence revealed by their lack of appreciation as to why it is wrong or harmful for them to react in this way.
We cannot change this mindset overnight and the practicality of attempting to do so is flawed. However, what we can do and what we must all encourage, is to seek to adjust the language associated with stammering.
Be it a teacher imploring a student to "slow down and take their time" or a manager telling a colleague to "calm down and breathe", even if they are intended to be helpful, these phrases only serve to heighten tension and cultivate a negative mindset towards public speaking and to stammering itself.
Speaking in front of a large crowd is nerve-racking even for the best of us. So, stammer or not, what we must do as adults is to look to find better ways of reacting to individuals stumbling on their words and change the language that we use to address it. Be it a teacher imploring a student to "slow down and take their time" or a manager telling a colleague to "calm down and breathe", even if they are intended to be helpful, these phrases only serve to heighten tension and cultivate a negative mindset towards public speaking and to stammering itself.
For those who don't stammer, this may be a temporary fleeting moment of anxiety. But for those who do stammer, it can be an ever-enduring battle and requires all the positive reinforcements that society can provide. I am of the firm belief that the more we can do to make a person who stammers feel comfortable speaking to a crowd, the better off we will all be by having the pleasure of hearing their voice.
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