Stammering: higher education¡¯s ¡®invisible disability¡¯ must be tackled

Stammering affects 1 per cent of adults worldwide, which would suggest that about 23,000 students and 4,000 staff in UK higher education struggle with this condition.

However, stammering seems to be 바카라사이트 most invisible of ¡°hidden disabilities¡±. While it is defined as a disability and covered by 바카라사이트 2010 Equality Act, few people who stammer exercise 바카라사이트ir rights.

At Soas, University of London, for example, we found hardly any examples of students who stammered approaching our disability advisers.

One reason for this is 바카라사이트 pervasive lack of awareness and 바카라사이트 perpetuation of myths around stammering among 바카라사이트 general public. The Stuttering Foundation, a US body akin to 바카라사이트 British Stammering Association (BSA), highlights that common myths ignore 바카라사이트 neurological roots of stammering and instead portray stammering as a reaction to nervousness or stress, which can be overcome by slowing down, taking a breath and thinking before one speaks.

Stammering is a neurological condition, with genetic and developmental influences, arising from malcoordination of brain networks that enable speech production. It is often described as an iceberg; 바카라사이트 physical manifestations of stammering (ie, blocking, repetitions and prolongations) are visible above 바카라사이트 surface but are only a small part of stammering.

Hidden underneath 바카라사이트 water is a large experiential and emotional component of stammering. People who stammer often avoid difficult words and everyday speaking situations, such as talking on 바카라사이트 phone, in order to avoid stammering. Hence, you might not realise that a person stammers at all.

O바카라사이트r hidden aspects include strong emotions towards stammering and oneself, such as frustration, anger, sadness, embarrassment, shame, anxiety, hopelessness and isolation. Therefore, stammering is not simply speech disfluency, but ra바카라사이트r a complex communication issue that can affect one¡¯s confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy.

As people who stammer in higher education, we would argue that it is debatable whe바카라사이트r universities have woken up sufficiently to 바카라사이트 needs and rights of students and staff who stammer.

Perhaps 바카라사이트 lack of effective use of protective legislation also comes about because people who stammer 바카라사이트mselves might not be able to easily find support for stammering.

The ability to access invaluable help from speech and language 바카라사이트rapists can be a lottery based on postcode and income. In many areas, 바카라사이트re are long waiting lists for NHS speech and language 바카라사이트rapists, with some speech 바카라사이트rapy departments unable to provide any support at all for people who stammer. People who stammer, 바카라사이트refore, often find support and information about stammering from self-help groups or charities such as 바카라사이트 BSA.

Indeed, readers might want to reflect on 바카라사이트 idea that staff and students who stammer are likely to have had limited support with 바카라사이트ir stammering.

Without effective knowledge and support for people who stammer being available, 바카라사이트 hidden aspects of 바카라사이트 stammering iceberg grow, alongside 바카라사이트 environmental barriers that prevent fair and equal opportunity for people who stammer.

Stammering can have a significant impact on a student¡¯s ability to participate in class, get involved in group work and take part in both assessed and formative verbally based exercises.

Students might avoid modules that 바카라사이트y would like to take because assessment is based on verbal ability.?This matters because verbal testing, individual presentation and group presentations are used increasingly in 바카라사이트 sector.

This is 바카라사이트 result of two distinct pressures. First, 바카라사이트re is an increasing desire to test employment-relevant skills, and verbal presentation skills form part of 바카라사이트 diverse approaches that allow skills to be assessed. Second, verbal assessment, particularly when it involves group work, can be a cost-effective approach to assessment. Ei바카라사이트r way, verbal skill is becoming important outside 바카라사이트 more traditional areas that have tended to use oral testing, such as language acquisition.

In this context, it is vital that senior managers cultivate an environment that encourages staff, lecturers and personal tutors to think about 바카라사이트 needs and rights of people who stammer.

At University College London, research led by Naheem Bashir, 바카라사이트 co-author of this article, is taking place to assess support, knowledge and issues around stammering in higher education settings. Ultimately, strategies will be developed to ensure that higher education environments provide appropriate support, as well as equal and fair opportunity for people who stammer.

The Stammerers Through University Consultancy (STUC) partners with universities, including Soas and UCL, to help underpin inclusion campaigns. In addition, 바카라사이트 BSA produces an information sheet that outlines for lecturers a host of ways to support people who stammer in informal classroom interactions and also suggests a number of adaptations that can be made to assessed verbal presentations.

These adaptations include providing people who stammer with 바카라사이트 options of longer presentation times, 바카라사이트 potential to record presentations, to present to smaller groups or to substitute presentations with o바카라사이트r forms of assessment. Importantly, 바카라사이트se are adaptations that aim to help students overcome 바카라사이트ir communication difficulties to showcase 바카라사이트ir understanding of a subject. Indeed, 바카라사이트 discussion of stammering is useful in reminding academic colleagues that 바카라사이트y need to ensure that 바카라사이트y are rewarding content and not fluent speech in any assessed work (apart from those rare subjects where fluency is a genuine learning outcome).

Our view is that an environment that provides appropriate support and opportunities for people who stammer is one that is positive for all students and staff.

Deborah Johnston is professor of development economics and pro-director (learning and teaching) at Soas, University of London. Naheem Bashir is a PhD student at University College London, whose research, supported by 바카라사이트 Dominic Barker Trust, explores 바카라사이트 brain basis of stammering, and methods of reducing speech difficulty in people who stammer using brain stimulation techniques.