Every year, the world observes International Stuttering Awareness Day on October 22, which coincided with the Diwali weekend this time. Different stakeholders like teacher, principal, speech expert and one who stutters tell us about how they deal with the challenge
Dr Ehteshaam Khatri, speech language pathologist with Wockhardt Hospitals in Mira Road says parents and teachers should encourage children who stutter to talk more. Image for representational purpose only. Photo Courtesy: Istock
While growing up, LeeJude D’souza used to stutter quite a lot but luckily, he had a cousin, who used to also stutter like him. So, the medical condition wasn’t really an alien concept to him. He shares, “My parents never made me conscious that I stammer, they just told me this is normal. So, I never really went to a doctor.” Obviously, there were instances where he faced challenges at local shops in the neighbourhood and personally, it wasn’t always easy. “In my life, as a kid, I only knew me and my cousin brother, so it felt like a lot of burden.” However, after realising that there are many others who also stutter, he never thought of it as an issue, and one that Uttan local will just have to live with.