European League of Stuttering Associations
ELSA, Zülpicher Str. 58 D-50674 Köln, Germany
Tel. +49 221 139 1106    fax + 49 221 139 1370
e-mail elsa@bvss.de
 		ELSA, 31 Grosvenor Road, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 2RL, Great Britain
Tel. +44 191 281 8003    fax+44 191 281 8003
e-mail elsa.europe@totalise.co.uk
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A Short History of ELSA

The EUROPEAN LEAGUE OF STUTTERING ASSOCIATIONS (ELSA) was set up in 1990 by 12 countries to promote a greater knowledge and understanding of stuttering and to bring together, as a top umbrella Organisation, the National Stuttering Self-Help Organisations of Europe.

Some countries, including many in Europe, have independent non-governmental organisations, usually charitable or voluntary, which do try to improve conditions for stutterers through various methods such as:

  • providing impartial advice and information to all sectors of the community on stuttering therapy.
  • promoting a greater understanding of stuttering among the general public
  • holding workshops, seminars, conferences etc. on all aspects of stuttering.
  • supporting local self-help groups.
  • providing a social network to bring stutterers together for discussion and self-therapy.
  • producing informative newsletters and magazines on all aspects of stuttering and therapy.
  • providing lines of communication to combat the isolation felt by many stutterers.

In effect the National Stuttering Self-Help Organisations in Europe over the past twenty years or so have independently and without major funding sought to improve the conditions for people disabled or disadvantaged by stuttering.

Why ELSA?

ELSA is a trans-national, cross-cultural Organisation. It can seek resources only open to multi-national groups. It extends the exchange-of-information network. It can lobby for stutterers at a different level.

Its main roles are:

  • to link together and further the co-operation of Europe's national organisations.
  • to provide a forum for exchange of concepts and experiences in stuttering therapy and self-help.
  • to help represent the interests of stutterers to European and international bodies.
  • to put stuttering onto the European agenda to ensure that the needs and challenges faced by people who stutter are considered in a European context.

ELSA's work has been recognised by the International Labour Office in Geneva, the World Health Organisation in Geneva and the United Nations Office in Vienna. ELSA is also a member of the European Disability Forum, an umbrella disability organisation based in Brussels.

ELSA consists of an Executive Board and Committees comprising stutterers from all walks of life some of whom work in the field of stuttering therapy.

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