ELSA Speeches and Presentations

...So while I acknowledge difficulties in getting an accurate picture across, does every stutterer have to be made out to be stupid, or have fun poked at them or indeed be the villain. Does this sort of portrayal not influence how the public perceives people who stutter and indeed how they react to them. Does the media need to consider its responsibility.

When a film is made in a positive way about a disability such as Rainman where a `taboo` subject - autism - is taken, explained and personalised then what huge difference it can make to the understanding of that disability.

Stuttering isn't a subject you should be afraid of.

Let me tell you a story about a young boy with a severe stutter who dreamt of being a popstar. He stood up in front of millions of people on UK TV, stuttered through his introductions, but against all the odds, because of his personality and talent he is currently one of the biggest stars in Britain soon to be a huge star throughout Europe – you couldn't really make up the story of Gareth Gates because no drama unit would probably be interested. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

So a fair bit of innovation and creativity may be needed when dealing with stuttering – but please don't shy away from it.

Lets have a look now at a multi award-winning short film, directed by Belgian film-maker Erik Lamens, himself a stutterer.

This will show the discrimination and difficulties faced by one young man who stutters. I hope you will keep the video and the issue of stuttering in your mind. We have difficulty speaking for ourselves – perhaps you can help speak for us.