Speech and Hearing BC to Commemorate International Stuttering Awareness Day and Highlight Challenges Faced by Stutterers During the Pandemic

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 18, 2021 /CNW/ - Speech and Hearing BC, a not-for-profit association with more than 1200-member speech-language pathologists and audiologists in British Columbia, will be recognizing International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) at their upcoming conference on October 22. ISAD is an annual celebration that is intended to raise public awareness of the issues faced by millions of people, an estimated one percent of the world's population who stutter, or stammer. Speech and Hearing BC's conference key note speaker, Joze Piranian is a lifelong stutterer turned International Motivational Speaker who knows just how important raising awareness around the issue of stuttering can be.

"Personally, the most challenging aspect of having a stutter wasn't the physical act of getting stuck on my words. That's only a small part of the experience. What people don't see are the emotions of guilt, shame and embarrassment that one can experience during formative years of life. For this reason, it's crucial for people worldwide to learn that it's OK to be different and that we must own what makes us unique!"

Joze uncovered ground-breaking insights for personal transformation that turned his obstacle into triumphant public speaking and stand-up comedy performances. Speech and Hearing BC is looking forward to Joze speaking to the importance of ISAD this Friday after his appearances at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and at CBC Debaters in the past week. Speech pathologists in BC work with stutterers of all ages from across the province to help them build the confidence to face the challenges associated with stuttering, but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their practice with patients.

The pandemic has been a paradigm shift for people around the world, but groups such as stutterers continue to face unique consequences of COVIDs impact on their daily lives and sessions to improve their stutter. No one knows this better than Wendy Duke, a veteran speech-language pathologist who has worked with people who stutter for over 40 years.

"COVID19 has affected the way service is delivered to people who stutter in a number of ways. Group programs require social distancing between clients as well as the use of PPE; which reduces the number of people we can treat in our intensive programs.  One-on-one services, including assessment, treatment and follow-up, are now done mostly via telepractice. While some clients appreciate these changes, others are reluctant to attend virtually or while wearing PPE." 

Wendy helps to administer an innovative program that uses improv training to help British Columbians who stutter. "Unblockables," a collaboration between Vancouver-based Columbia Speech and Language Services Inc. and Tightrope Theatre, teaches the fundamentals of improv to help participants cultivate laughter and celebrate mistakes. As the world recognizes International Stuttering Awareness Day, it is important to acknowledge the courage of stutterers and the efforts of speech pathologists across BC who continue to innovate their services during the pandemic to help patients find their voice.

Speech and Hearing BC is a not-for-profit association with more than 1200-member speech-language pathologists and audiologists in British Columbia. We believe in the importance of providing treatment to individuals of all ages who may experience problems with their speech, language, hearing, voice, swallowing, fluency, and social communication.

SOURCE Speech and Hearing BC

Mitch Pratt, Impact Public Affairs, C: 905-464-4847, [email protected]