Stambassadors
It was great to visit Nick and chat to him about his work at Simmons & Simmons. He is really grateful to his employers for being supportive of his stammer and thinks young people should be open about it with colleagues
“While those who don’t stammer are presented with the physical signs of it when the person who stammers speaks, they do not see the psychological side: the guilt, shame and weakness that the person who stammers feels”
Joe Boyd, Stand up to your stammer
Helpful links
STAMMA
STAMMA, the British Stammering Association, is a membership organisation and registered UK charity for people who stammer (and those that support them) aged 16 and over. They run regular events and campaigns with a mission to create a better world for those who stammer.
Stammering Law
This website looks mainly at the position of stammering under the Equality Act 2010 (previously the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). Stammering is the same as stuttering.
50 Million Voices
50 Million Voices is a campaign bringing together stammering leaders and employers from around the world to collaborate and transform opportunities at work for people who stammer. As well as promoting best practices, the charity arrange a variety of initiatives to support people who stammer at work, including practice interviews and workshops with HR professionals.
The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division
The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division (LDD) supports disabled people within the solicitors profession or looking to get into it – including informal mentoring. They also help the Law Society advise firms, local law societies and other organisations on best practice. In addition they are involved in research and guidance to improve disability inclusion.
Articles
Being a person who stammers in the legal profession
“Good verbal communication skills are widely regarded as integral to the practice of law. Among the general public, this impression has likely been fostered as a result of films and other media portrayals of lawyers which tend to focus on advocacy and adversarial proceedings…”
Stand up to your Stammer
“The purpose of this article is, first, to try to raise awareness of stammering in the legal profession, and secondly to encourage and demonstrate to those who may experience similar issues and may think otherwise, that a law career and a courtroom job is not necessarily barred to them…”
Stammering and the criminal justice system
“We argue that the law needs reforming and enforcing, to improve the support and assistance available to people who stammer as they navigate around and negotiate with the CJS. There are barriers to justice: including an increased risk of compromised liberty, dignity, and unfair sentencing, for people who stammer…”
Do I belong?
“The fear of sounding different was enough to prevent me from speaking up about how I felt. My battle was that of achieving fluency and sounding normal and this could only be attained by avoiding speaking all together or substituting difficult words, and so I started living in the shadows.”