The International Stuttering Awareness Day(ISAD) is annually observed across the globe on 22nd October to create awareness about Stuttering, a speech disorder which is also known as stammering and how the condition affects the fluency of speech. The first International Stuttering Awareness Day was observed on 22nd October 1998.
The theme of 2020 ISAD is “Journey of Words – Resilience and Bouncing Back”.
Note:
The sea green colour ribbon is used to represent stuttering awareness.
Background:
The International Stuttering Awareness Day(ISAD) is a joint initiative between the International Stuttering Association (ISA), International Fluency Association (IFA) and European League of Stuttering Associations (ELSA).
Events:
The International Stuttering Association has organised the 23rd ISAD Online conference which started on 1st October 2020 and concludes on 22nd October 2020.
Stuttering:
i.Stuttering is a speech disorder characterised by repetition of sounds, syllables or words, prolongation of sound or blocks – interruption in speech.
ii.This speech disorder affects about 1% of the world’s population.
Covert Stuttering:
i.The covert stuttering is a type of stuttering where the person with the disorder hides their stutters from others.
ii.The covert stutterer experiences the cognitive and emotional elements of stuttering with minimum overt behavioral symptoms.
Stuttered Speech Syndrome(SSS):
i.The Stuttered Speech Syndrome (SSS) distinguishes the habitual stuttering, stuttering not associated with Social Anxiety Disorder.
ii.SSS is diagnosed for the person suffering from stuttering and Social Anxiety Disorder.
Cause:
i.The cause of stuttering is still unknown and it is identified as a neurological disorder.
Stuttering can be developmental i.e., obtained as a child or it can be acquired, developed due to any trauma or drug use.
ii.The stuttering foundations has classified the causes of stuttering as Genetics, Child development, Neurophysiology and family dynamics.
