ABOUT ACTION FOR STAMMERING CHILDREN

Action for Stammering Children (ASC) commissions the delivery of specialist services that transform the lives of children and young people who stammer. We do this by working with the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in London and by running residential courses in the North of England. 

We are the charity which created and continues to support the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in London. This internationally-recognised Centre runs the UK’s largest specialist service exclusively dedicated to the assessment and treatment of children who stammer from across the UK. We also support projects aimed at boosting the confidence of young people who stammer and, through our inspirational Youth Panel, we make sure young people who stammer have a voice in the direction of our Charity.  

Stammering is a severe communication disability which impairs social, emotional and educational development. Estimates suggest that 8% of children will stammer at some point and approximately 1% continue to stammer into adulthood. Stammering is more common in boys than in girls. It is characterised by repetitions, prolongations and blocking of sounds, and can be accompanied by feelings of isolation, frustration and embarrassment. 

Stammering crosses all races, cultures, religions and social groups. It can conceal intellectual ability, affect educational choices and achievement, result in impaired communication skills and it frequently becomes a focus for teasing and bullying. In severe cases, it may significantly affect a young person’s ability to achieve their potential and to make a full contribution to society as an adult. 

ASC was the inspiration of the late Travers Reid, a successful businessman and a person who stammered, who was determined to help children who stammer throughout the UK. Travers founded the Charity, along with the late Dr Lena Rustin, an insprational speech and language therapist. Following his appearance in A Fish Called Wanda, Michael became Vice President of the Charity and opened the Michael Palin Centre in 1993.

At the core of the Michael Palin Centre’s work is the specialist assessment service for any child or young person in the UK, aged 2-18, who stammers. Both parents attend with their child where possible, so that the stammering problem can be fully assessed in the context of each individual family. Families are seen by two specialist therapists who spend a morning or afternoon with the child and their parents during which they can identify and fully understand the factors underlying the child’s stammer. The assessment has been developed and refined over the last 30 years, and more recently has evolved to be able to offer the service online, ensuring  that we could continue delivering our service through these difficult times.    It is the cornerstone of each child’s subsequent therapy and greatly increases the likelihood of a successful outcome. 

As well as supporting specialist assessments and therapy, the Charity also funds training of speech and language therapists and a programme of research. The training increases the understanding, skills and confidence of speech and language therapists to be able to work with children who stammer. The research programme aims to provide evidence of the efficacy of the therapy as well as to develop understanding of the nature of stammering and we are funding a PhD  looking at stammering and mental health.  

Our Youth Panel is made up of young people who stammer and are keen to support the charity. They meet regularly as a group to work together on awareness raising projects and annually with the board to help shape our strategy. They have recently launched an online game which celebrates historic figures who stammered and regularly act as media spokespeople for the charity. 

We have a group of 50 ‘Stambassadors’ – adults, in successful careers, who stammer. These people have all filmed videos talking about their careers and their tips for success. They help to show young people who stammer that anything is possible and that their stammers need not hold them back. Last year we ran a careers evening with our ‘Stambassadors’ and we hope to develop a mentoring programme in the coming years.