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.