One shade of green for ISAD

Thursday 22nd October marks International Stammering Awareness Day.

Irish Stammering Association is delighted that people who stammer are being encouraged to wear sea green clothes or a ribbon!

Michael Sugarman, of the International Stuttering Association writes:
"People have asked, "What color do we use for stuttering awareness?" This year marks the debut of a stuttering awareness ribbon. The color is sea green. The color 'blue' has traditionally been associated with calm while 'green' represents liberty, freedom and justice. The combination of these colors for People who Stutter shows the bond between 'peace' and 'liberation' when finding support and community with other people who understand and share their experiences. These are reflected in the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities of People who Stutter."

Last Saturday saw National Stammering Awareness Day take place in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin. Attended by over 160 people including adults, teens and children who stutter, their friends, families, Speech and Language Therapists, allied professionals and members of Dáil Eireann.

Members of the Irish Stammering Association stood up and spoke about their experiences, they shared experiences, stories and even a laugh or two.

Many agreed that progress has been made in the last few years around awareness, and developing services. Discussion took place around the need for continued improvement of services for people who stutter but stressed the importance of people who stutter taking action themselves either in attending local support groups or requesting local Speech and Language Therapy services.

Irish Stammering Association’s Children’s Drama Project gave their first public showcase performance and gave the audience a fantastic inspirational message to stand up, speak out and be counted.

So, let people know, wear something sea green on October 22nd to raise awareness around stuttering!

PS: remember to go to the Stuttering Homepage for the ISAD online conference