Here is a ‘media kit’ for anyone to translate or adapt and send it to local newspaper or share with media in other ways. It briefly introduces the problem of stammering and TISA’s role. You can email us your translations, so that we can put it up here, for further distribution. Translation credits will be duly mentioned.
Press Release
Stammering affects 1-2 % of adults and 5-15% of children under 15 yrs. It is commoner in men than women by 4:1 ratio. Medical research has not been able to pinpoint the cause. It seems many reasons could be involved: genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Stammering is present when we repeat syllables (part words) or words with struggle. In many cases it may manifest as an inner struggle associated with talking. Considerable negative emotions & suffering accompany stammering- anxiety, guilt, fear and shame.
There are no known “cures” but speech therapy can help to some extent. Modern speech therapy for stammering is prohibitively costly. So what can help thousands of sufferers across this vast country is self help groups(SHG), accessible & correct information, better social attitudes (acceptance- in homes, schools and workplace) and state interventions. State should provide Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF- an electronic device that helps fluency) enabled telephones / mobile phones at subsidy to people who stammer (PWS). Speech therapy for children needing it, in schools should be mandatory and free. The media (film & TV) should stop portraying stammering in negative light.
TISA is an association of Indian PWS (people who stammer) from various walks of life, which will be working to promote awareness, research and documentation of relevant issues. It will be promoting self help group movement in India, both in urban as well as rural pockets. SHG movement in the field of stammering is quite old in western countries but is beginning in Asia only now. The reasons are: society and PWS have been reluctant to talk about it because of lack of knowledge and a sense of embarrassment. But times are changing!
Our motto is: L-L-Let’s t-talk about it!
