University News Last updated 30 January 2019
Birmingham City University is set to open its doors to host the first in a new series of events aiming to raise awareness of stammering.
The Birmingham Stammering Network events series will launch at the University’s City South Campus on 31 January, between 6pm and 8pm, where guest speaker Max Gattie will share his experiences of a stammering self-help group in Manchester.
The events will be held monthly at venues across Birmingham and provide opportunities for both people who stammer and members of the public to meet, talk and learn from others in a pressure free and welcoming environment.
Birmingham Stammering Network aims to make Birmingham and surrounding areas a better place for those who stammer, and is led by a steering group of people who stammer as well as Speech and Language Therapy Lecturers and students at Birmingham City University.
Birmingham City University has been running its Speech and Language Therapy course for over 50 years, training the next generation of therapists to support people of all ages who have communication and/or swallowing difficulties.
The course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and delivered at the West Midlands’ only training site for speech and language therapists – as well as being the largest provider of qualified staff to the NHS and social care professions.
Gillian Rudd, Senior Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy at Birmingham City University said: “We are delighted to host the first event of this series to help raise awareness of stammering and support those who stammer in our region. Research tells us that people who stammer can face bullying, teasing and discrimination, despite them being as capable and competent as any of us.
Max Gattie explained: “Growing up with a stammer is really tough. I found it harder to interact with other children in the classroom. Being a teenager was even harder, there’s teasing, bullying, things like that. Having a stammer makes everything seem a lot tougher and it’s really easy to start to think that if it wasn’t for the stammer then you could do so much more.
“When I left university in my early 20s I found it quite hard to get a job. I was quite keen to work in a pub or bar, pouring people drinks, it was a normal thing to do for people that age. I would go to interviews and would be stammering and I never got the job. I don’t know for definite if it was because of my speech, but I suspect it was. In the end I ended up going for jobs where I didn’t have to speak. For quite a while I did graphic design as there was no speech necessary.
“I still have a stammer, but it never stops me from doing what I want to do where in the past it would have done. If I hadn’t made the decision to tackle it when I did I wouldn’t have got anywhere close to the full potential I had of living an enjoyable life. I’d always have it hanging over me, wondering what life would be like without it, but I don’t have to think about that anymore.
“That’s why I want to share my story at this event and encourage others who stammer not to give up, even when it seems impossible.”
Places can be booked online via Eventbrite.