This day, also known as International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD), is annually observed on October 22.
Established in 1998, this day concludes an annual international conference hosted by the International Stuttering Association from October 1 to October 21. Since 2013 the conference is held online (http://isad.isastutter.org/).
The purpose of this day is to raise general public awareness to the hardships confronted by persons with speech disorders, the various causes for such dysfunctions and the modern ways to treat them. Above all, the day is intended to strengthen recognition that people who stammer can perform intellectually, socially and physically just as well as everyone else. Speech dysfunctions are manifold. They may be characterized by mispronunciation of certain consonants or vowels, by speech that often gets stuck, by involuntary repetition or prolongation of syllables, words or parts of a sentence, etc. The causes for stammering, though generally unknown, are assumed by speech-language professionals to be hereditary or neurophysiologic.
There is no complete remedy for the phenomenon except in rare specific cases, but therapeutic techniques to ameliorate it have been developed and applied successfully. Voluntary international associations, organizations and groups for people who stutter observe this day by holding diverse events such as open meetings, lectures, support and information centers, etc. Whether or not you have a speech impediment, you can show care, involvement and support by adding the green ISAD ribbon to the image of your profile on social networks.
It may interest you to know that some prominent and successful leaders and celebrities were stutterers who overcame their speech impediment, among them Moses who led the Israelites to the Promised Land, King George VI, Claudius the Roman emperor, Winston Churchill, Lewis Carroll and Marilyn Monroe.
