When words don't come easily

Think back to autumn 2001, and Pop Idol, the reality TV programme in search of a UK pop star, was in full swing. Gareth Gates was one of the finalists and he was speechless--literally. As each week went by, more and more viewers watched Gareth as he tried to speak, but he could not--the words just would not come out.

The public became endeared to him because of his speech difficulties. They could not quite understand how he could sing so fluently, but found speaking so impossible. And so Gareth became somewhat of a national figurehead for personal courage, “Just look at how brave that boy is, entering that competition with his problems.” But I used to cringe; I could not bear to watch. As someone who stammers, I find stammering utterly embarrassing because it makes me realise how others see me.

The incidence of stammering is startlingly high. The British Stammering Association (BSA) suggests that as many as 1% of the adult population in the United Kingdom stammers.1 The problem affects men between three to four times more than women. For children, the numbers are even higher with as many as 5% of under fives and 1.2% of school aged children living with the problem.1