A GREAT deal of stigma is attached to having a speech dysfluency, but advocates, some of whom are suffering from the disability, are urging Guyanese to discontinue the trend of making fun of persons who stammer or stutter.

According to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) Senior Rehabilitation Assistant, Aloma Fredricks, stammering or stuttering is known as the involuntary repetition, blockage or disruption in the flow and rhythm of speech.

Persons who suffer from the dysfluency are often teased, bullied or misunderstood; this is so because many Guyanese are not aware of the causes and effects or may not know how to relate to persons who may suffer from the speech dysfluency.
However, Paul Garraway, a final year medical student of the University of Guyana, plans to promote an initiative to change the way Guyanese see persons who suffer from a speech dysfluency.

Garraway, who is currently an ‘out-patient’ of the Speech Therapy unit of GPHC’s Rehabilitation Department, stated that he was doing some research on stammering, when he stumbled upon a British-based association which advocates for persons living with the speech dysfluency, and celebrates International Stuttering Awareness Day, as a yearly event, to educate people on how to relate to persons who may stutter.
While Guyana does not acknowledge the day, it is celebrated every year on October 22. Garraway noted that one of his goals was to have the day acknowledged and celebrated across the country.

Garraway added that, in 2020, he intends to form an association, which will assist both adults and children who do not stutter, to better understand the condition, and thus find it inappropriate to make fun of persons who stammer or stutter, not only in Guyana but in the entire Caribbean.

Diego Barnett, a graduate of Queens College, and one who also attends speech therapy at the GPHC, noted that, during his school days, his peers were very ignorant and insensitive towards his speech dysfluency.

“Over my years of experiencing this stuttering, I felt a bit embarrassed sometimes and I think that I shouldn’t feel discouraged but I should try to encourage others also, so I see myself with this movement and helping out,” Barnett stated.

He added that many of his peers never really understood the condition and would mock him, hence he intends to join forces with Garraway, to ensure that Guyana is aware of the speech dysfluencies, and Guyanese are educated enough on the disability and how it affects persons living with the dysfluency, so that persons can exercise patience when communicating with someone who stutters.