ABOUT US

OUR VISION
A world that understands stammering.

OUR MISSION
Is to bring “hope, dignity, support, education and empowerment to children and adults who stutter and their families.

VALUES
Caring about people, development, empowerment, integrity, openness, quality.

PHILOSOPHY
We adhere to Winston Churchill’s philosophy of “we are changed by what we do not by what we read, think or say but by what we actually do”

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

• To provide the best possible therapy for stammering children, teens and adults in Nigeria.
• To conduct research into the nature and treatment of stuttering in Nigeria.
• To help stutterers to cure or reduce their problematic disorder called stuttering.
• To set up series of speech therapy sessions for stutterers in Nigeria.
• To counteract the tendering to “hold back” and use avoidance mechanisms for stuttering.
• To accept yourself as a recovering stutterer until you have proven to be a fluent speakers.
• To develop on assertive attitude to attack your reminding of your past affliction.
• To provide advanced professional training for speech language pathologist in Nigeria.
• To promote public awareness of stuttering and it’s treatment.
• To gain new information on treatment methods for stuttering and self help technique.

STRATEGY

• Assisting un-employed members to secure employment and also to provide avenue for members interest in private practice to acquire the skill and assistant in been employed.
• Raising fund from various philanthropists, Governments, Non-Government organization (NGO).
• To cater for the needs of members most especially as regards member’s treatment abroad.
• To attend various conferences that could assist in meeting the aims and objectives of stuttering.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SAN
What is known as the ‘SAN’ Stuttering Association of Nigeria came to Mr Adeyemi Akintunde as an idea in 1997, when he was still in the high school. He realised there should be a forum for stutterers in Nigeria to come together and air their views and challenges by rubbing minds together with fellow stutterers.

He was always discussing with a very good friend of his, Akingbade Olatidoye who although not a stutterer, always interested in seeing stutterers being helped and appreciated in the society. Akingbade Olatidoye was the person that never allowed the vision to quench in Mr Adeyemi Akintunde. He was always encouragiing him to forge ahead in spite of glaring difficulties faced by stutterers in Nigeria back then.

In 2001, Adeyemi was linked up with a renowned stutterer Mr Joseph Lukong in Cameroon by a speech pathologist in the US called Ms Judith Kuster.
Joseph Lukong who is the general coordinator of Speak Clear Association of Cameroon (SCAC) also played a tremendous role in keeping the passion burning in the heart of Adeyemi until SAN was started in Nigeria.

And finally, in 2004, Stuttering Association of Nigeria was incoporated with the Coporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria.

FACTS ABOUT STUTTERING IN NIGERIA

It is not known what causes stuttering but research suggests that a combination of factors are involved. Men are four times more likely to be affected than women. Five percent of pre school children stammer. This means that, at any one time, about 100,000 children under five are affected in Nigeria. Around a quarter of these children are at risk of developing a chronic stammer in adult life unless they receive speech and language therapy during the pre-school years. Approximately 150,000 school age children and 600,000 adults in Nigeria stammer (i.e. one percent of their respective age group)

In many cases, stammering can be overcome if treated at pre-school age, while modern therapy can help improve the fluency, confidence, and communication skills of older children and adults who stammer.
There is no known cure for stammering.
No stutterer can say his own name!

COUNTRY INTRODUCTION

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in West Africa. It covers a land area of about 923,773 sq. km.

The population of the country is currently put to about 120 million. The country is divided into 36 states or administrative units and the capital city is Abuja. Other important cities in the country include Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Kano, Jos and Port Harcourt. The country has two main seasons. The Dry Season, which runs from November to March, and the wet season, which runs through most of the year except in the Northern part of the country, which is usually very dry. The principal export of the country is crude oil.

Nigeria was colonized by Britain until 1960 when the country gained independence. A civil war was fought between 1967 and 1970 when the Southeastern part of the country threatened secession. The principal religions in Nigeria are Islam, Christianity and various forms of traditional beliefs.

THE HISTORY OF STUTTERING IN NIGERIA

Although a significant population of the Nigerian population stutters, there has been virtually no organized attempt putting stutterers in focus. This association is the first organized attempt at bringing the plight and condition of stutterers to the fore. Stutterers face a lot of challenges at work, school and even at home.

However many prominent Nigerians have risen above this speech condition to the very heights of their careers e.g The late Chief Moshood Olawale Abiola who was the presidential elect of the annulled June 12, 2003 presidential elections in Nigeria happened to be a known stutterer. And despite his speech problems he became a force to reckon with both in business and political terrains in Nigeria.

Self Help Groups

Stuttering Association Of Nigeria (SAN) have dcetails of some self-active groups for people who stammer in Nigeria. These vary considerably in size, structure, and regularity of meetings e.t.c but can be invaluable as a means of meeting others, finding encouragement and remembering you are not alone. For some people who stammer taking part in self-help activities, instead of, alongside or after therapy, can be very beneficial. The SAN will provide information about self help groups, pen-pal schemes and open day activities available available throughout Nigeria.

Telephone practice and support.

Once a month Stuttering association of Nigeria support group takes place over the telephone known as conference call. The group call lasts one hour and is run by a trained facilitator who stammers. It provides an excellent opportunity to discuss specific issues e.g stammering at work/therapy and practice telephone skills. There is also an active Telephone Link Up Scheme for SAN members. Contact the SAN office for further details.

SAN Today

Keeping you up to date with what is happening with projects and people at SAN

Research committee vacancy

Vacancies for membership of the SAN research sub-committee will arise during 2005. researchers and therapists interested in joining this group are invited to register their interest, first with SAN through our email info@stutteringnigeria.org
In due course it will be necessary to provide a brief CV to assist existing committee members in the selection process. This should be emailed to SAN by the end of December 2005.

The aims of the committee include: setting up monitoring research projects, liason with groups with similar goals, location of funding fro research dissemination of information on stammering research.

Trainee fundraiser
Akingbade Olatidoye has joined the SAN as part-time trainee trust fundraiser for the duration of his one year training programme. Akingbade will be working on the funding for future projects for the SAN, planned to run from april 2006. He will also support SAN in developing several smaller fundraising schemes.

Our concerns about stuttering.

The SAN is the only nationwide organization supporting both adults and children who stammer.

• Stuttering is not a speech difficulty but a serious communication problem. People who stutter often find themselves isolated and humiliated within a society that takes fluent speech for granted.
• Stuttering can undermine confidence and self esteem, impede education, and hamper employment prospects.
• We are an organization run by our members. We understand the difficulties and how to help. As a member, you can contribute to the direction of our work and the services we provide.
• SAN makes a real difference. Services for adults include contact with other people who stammer, social and support groups, information on employment issues, self-help and therapy.
• We do as much as we can to enable adults of all backgrounds and ages to get the most out of life in a world that takes fluent speech for granted.
  

Our limitations as a Stuttering association in Nigeria

The stuttering association of Nigeria has just started out in this part of the world and we are still poised with some certain difficulties due to lack of necessary materials.
The SAN will however appreciate support from our fellow associations in developed countries by donating materials like: Books, magazines and Interactive CD-ROMS to train school children, learning aids to train teachers on how to help and support children, Teens and Adult that stutter, and more importantly a postal lending library.

We can be contacted through our email address, postal address or phone numbers.

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About stuttering
What is stuttering?
Approximately, one person in one hundred stutters, and you may think that most of these people stutter in the same way that you do. In fact, people stutter in different ways so that the term stuttering covers a wide range of behaviours. One person may get blocked or stuck on a certain word or sound, another may repeat sounds, another may go back ij speech and take a run at the difficult word, and yet another may do all of these things and many more. “It is an involuntary repetition, prolongation or block which interrupts the normal flow of speech”.

(From Faulkner (1991) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian)

You may notice a person

1. Is putting extra effort into saying his words.
2. Has tense and jerky speech.
3. Cannot seem to get started and no sound comes out for several seconds (‘..…I got a teddy”)
4. Is stretching sounds in a word (“I want a sssssstory”)
5. Is repeating parts of word several times (“mu-mu-mu-mu-mummy”)
6. Stops what he is saying half way through his sentence.

These examples vary from person to person- you may hear some or all of these when a person talks.

NOTE: Stuttering can come and go – so don’t put off getting help.

What is known about stuttering

It is not known exactly why a child stammers; it is likely that a combination of factors is involved. There is no evidence that parents cause stuttering. It is about 4 times more common in boys than in girls. Stuttering runs in families and occurs worldwide in all cultures and social groups.

Most clinicians referred to stuttering as a disorder, disruption, interruption, or breakdown in the forward flow of speech; 13 referred to blocks, prolongations, and repetitions in their definition. Causal factors included genetic, neurological,motor or physical, variable, and unknown i.e, several clinicians noted more than one causal interpretation; therefore the total does not equal

Definitions of stuttering focused on behavioral symptoms ; some referred to emotional/situational characteristics. Causal factors included biological e.g., neurophysiologic, genetic, organic, emotional,discourse/linguistic, and learning.

Stuttering was generally defined as a fluency disorder; one defined it as a breakdown between the body and soul. Causal explanations included genetic, neurophysiologic, psychic, organic, coordinative, and personality. Several clinicians expressed ultimate objectives in these ways: "Communication ability is a freedom of a human being." "If you can bring peace in your own mind, you can bring peace into the world." "I see stuttering therapy as one of may possibilities to decrease human suffering."

The public in Germany commonly view stuttering as a psychological manifestation.
Among the public in Chilean society, stuttering is generally thought to be of psychological and neurological origin. People who stutter, therefore, often are referred to neurologists who may prescribe medication (e.g., Haloperidol); others are referred to psychologists or phonoaudiologists.
Note that in France, other professionals treat stuttering (e.g., neuropsychiatrists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, etc.)
The general public in Iceland assumes stuttering to be a learned behavior caused by environmental and psychological stress, and that preschool children will outgrow their disfluency

How is fluency affected

Whatever the age of your child, there are things is able to do easily and some things which he finds difficult. Your child’s fluency may change according to

1. The situation (e.g: if it is noisy or quiet, rushed or relaxed, at home or in the nursery)
2. Whether your child is talking to friends, parents or strangers.
3. What he wants to say (e.g: if it is complicated or easy, if the words are new or familiar)
4. How he is feeling (unwell, tired, anxious, excited or confident).

Stuttering may come and go; you may notice his speech is fluent for several days, weeks or months at a time, then he stumbles and speaking becomes difficult again.

My personal experience as a stutterer

My name is Akintunde Adeyemi, the director of Stuttering Association of Nigeria. I am studying Economics at Bowen University Iwo, Osun State Nigeria."For years I’ve been using every imaginable trick I could think of to keep from stuttering or to hide it when it came, most of the time I can get away with it but even so I live with the fear that sonner or later I willl be unmasked. I get so tired of always having to get ready to duck and dodge and cover up this constant fear" Stammering has Shattered my Confidence and made me feel like a Social Cripple. I hated saying my name and often had to rely on others to speak for me. Ordering food in a Cafeteria, Speaking in Crowded places caused me Self Hatred.
Yes I am a stutterer this will make every one to know that I am such a severe stutterer that I could not put two meaningful words together . Do I still stutter? Oh, I call my self a stutterer because I still have many interruptions in my speech now . But there’s another more important reason why I call my self a stutterer. I am not trying to hide the fact anymore, I Stutter very severely and when i say very severely i mean very severely. When i talk, the smallest child could see that i Stutter,when i open my mouth for the first time and noting came out! Ten second blocks? No,Thirty second blocks? If i was lucky five minute Blocks.

K-K-K-Katie Beautiful K-Katie,
Y-Y-Y-You're t-t-t-the only G-G-G-G-G-girl that i A-A-Adore
A-A-A-And when the M-M-M-M-Moon Shines
I'll be W-W-W-W-Waiting by the K-K-K-K-Kitchen D-D-D-Door.

The "Gift of Stuttering" eh? Is there anything like the "Gift of Typhoid?" Yeah, I know it sometimes feels that way, but I want to share with you some thoughts that may change your mind about that. Let me tell you one very personal story that has gone a long way to convince you that stuttering is, indeed a gift. Just so you know, I am a VERY "overt" stutterer. You talk with me for 15 seconds and you will KNOW beyond any doubt that I stutter. To know me is to know that I stutter. In truth that's probably made life a little easier for me than for those who have the skill to hide their stuttering.

What I have shared with you is my truth. It has allowed me to go beyond the fear - the immense fear that was a large part of my life for many years. The immense fear that held me back from being whom I am, doing what I want to do, saying what I want to say. Let me tell you a little bit about where I come from. I've stuttered since I've been about 3 years old.

Anyway today, thoroughly fed up, I decided to attack the situation head on. I began by going to a café for breakfast rather than the cafeteria where I’ve always gone so I wouldn’t have to talk. I walked past the café three times before getting up enough courage to walk in but I finally did."

" I found myself rehearsing my order, changing my selections so I might not stutter but I was so disgusted with my weakness that when the waitress came I just blurted out b-b-b-b-b-bread a-a-and eg-eg-eggs!" and stuttered on purpose on bread. I looked at her and she didn’t bat an eye. Just asked me if I wanted coffee and I said again b-b-b-b-bread and eggs and n-n-n-nescafe. I can’t tell you how good I felt for once I hadn’t been a coward if they don’t like it, they can lump it! I felt strong, not weak and I sure enjoyed the bacon and eggs.

Stuttering I think is a Gift! I have tried many things to get rid of my Stuttering but then I finally said I have been given Stuttering as a Gift and i should it. So i hope to continue my wonderful relationship with my Stuttering.

The Leopard cannot change his Spots! Once a Stutterer always a Stutterer forever.

We Stutterers ''Tongue Tied'' are now regarded as Helpless People Kneeling Down at the Shrine of Fluency.

Women Who Stutter

Communication: New and Old Relationships [Women Who Stutter]
Many of the WWS tend to avoid new social situations. They avoid attending parties or other social events for fear that they will "be found out" and perhaps rejected. This can be a major burden for women who are inherently out-going, but resist their true nature for fear of stuttering. This can also be challenging for partners, friends and family who want to be social. Some WWS have noted that they feel guilty because they do not want to prevent their partners or friends from having a good time at a party or other social event. Furthermore, some women have indicated that they worry that their partner/friends/and family will be embarrassed by their stuttering. Again, the fear and avoidance of stuttering can be stressful on relationships. Some women avoid dating and tend to be in long-term relationships, which is wonderful if they have found the "right" person, but perhaps not so wonderful if it is just a "safe" situation. Several women who have gone through speech therapy have ended certain relationships once they gained more self-confidence in their ability to let their voice be heard. Other women have expressed that they are very involved in their NSA chapters and have found that they usually date other people who stutter in their chapters. While this can be a wonderful way to meet people, some women have expressed that they fear that they avoid dating people who do not stutter for fear of rejection.
When you fear stuttering and are walking through a "mine field" to avoid stuttering, it can be very difficult to meet new people. It can also be difficult in some comfortable "old" relationships. Many of the women had spent many years attempting to hide their stuttering and, therefore, have not spoken much about it with other people. Yet, as we all intuitively know, the more you hide from something, the stronger it gets. Thus, the fear exacerbates situations and more stuttering can occur. Many women I know have grown tired of all the hiding and have found that being more open about stuttering lessens much of the fear of the constant fear of "being found out." Such openness does not mean that you need to tell new people your life story. And, it does not mean you are apologizing for yourself; rather, it is merely a way to alleviate the burden of needing to hide something that can in some instances, be quite difficult to hide.

Motherhood (prospective and current)

Many WWS at the workshop expressed concern over becoming mothers. Since mothers are often the primary advocates for their children (e.g., attending parent conferences, making pertinent phones calls, meeting other parents at the playground etc.), this can be a daunting task for WWS who avoid speaking situations. In addition, several women expressed their fear that they will have children who stutter and will have to go "through what [they] went through."
This is another example of where WWS would benefit from support and even role models. There are undoubtedly many WWS who are mothers with successful families who would be great role models for women with concerns about motherhood. It may be harder to find role models since less women stutter than men and this is reflected in the NSA membership. Yet, there are certainly role models within the NSA who might provide support to prospective and current mothers with concerns or fears about being a mother.

Summary

After facilitating a relationship and family group at the Women Living With Stuttering Workshop at the 2002 NSA, they found that many women related to each other when discussing the aforementioned topics despite where they were in their lives in terms of acceptance of their stuttering. There are no easy answers to these issues because stuttering is frequently not simply a speech impairment; it can become a syndrome that can pervade ones thoughts and actions. But the key word here is "living;" that is, there are many women successfully living with the ebb and flow of stuttering. They can be a great source of support to each other and to women who may be struggling more with their thoughts/feelings about stuttering and how it may affect their relationships with partners/friends/and family.

References

Tannen, D. (1990) You Just Don't Understand. New York: Ballantine Books

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Stammering is like an iceberg….
Joseph Sheehan, an eminent speech and language therapist from the USA, who stammered himself, has described some people’s stammering to be like an iceberg: