Media Release
Mangaluru, Jun 21: TISA (The Indian Stammering Association) held an official work shop through its dedicated facilitators for 'People who Stammer - PwS' for the first time here at CODP in Padua from June 16 to 18.
It was a unique event attended by a small cross section of PwS of the region, but also people from Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Indore, Dehradun and so on. There were engineers, a senior lawyer, students and people from several walks of life. The workshop was aimed to create better understanding of all parameters of stammering enhancing the awareness of the problem which is faced by about 1 to 2 per cent of the population or between 1 to 2 crore people of all ages and both sexes in India and most major countries.
Dedicated leader of the facilitators Dr Sachin Srivastava and his colleagues conducted the sessions in a sensitive and most desirable manner caring, observing and guiding for the maximum benefit of each and every individual participant, while looking into the nitty-gritty needs as well during the three days. Interaction, games to understand stuttering needs better and explanation/practice of various techniques available in modern times were all put forth for the benefit of the participants.
A few relevant quotes were also highlighted by the team leaders. Focusing and understanding the mechanics of stammering opened up avenues for a better need based overcoming the enigma of stammering.
TISA facilitators, Dr Sachin, Harish Usgaonkar, Binu G K, local speech therapists and others went all out to make the programme a success. The exchange of knowledge and comfort techniques they introduced to the stammers participating was deep and instilled a total transformation in the understanding to get over the emotional and active suffering that stammering involves in the long term. The motivation was meant for long term solution of rejection and failure which are precipitated by imaginary fears, stress and failure purely embedded in the unaware mind - enunciating the facts goes a long way in accepting and mitigating the problem. The 'impediment' in speech is not an impediment at all and is to be considered another form of speaking and not to be covered up, whatever the consequences are.
The event was an eye opener said an elderly person and added, "It has been an amazing exercise and first of its kind in my over 60 years of stamm ering. The development of thinking, acceptance, transparency, and self help that has been developed by TISA is truly terrific. Had this kind of motivation and training been available to me earlier, I would have in all probability overcome this speech impediment. It is heartening to see many young professionals and educated individuals at this workshop. It could have reached out to more people if media and institutions took it up too. Yet, knowing the reach and systematic approach of TISA through its active and committed facilitators, its impact is a marvel to note."
Sreeranganathan, a soft ware professional from Coimbatore said while parting, "These are my best days in recent times. For me all of us were comfortable with everyone here, and friendships were forged effortlessly. I learnt a lot, not just about stammering which should be accepted as part of people, but about many other things too. It became clear to me that PwS- People who Stammer, have a deeper sense of humour, are considerate and caring with uncanny understanding. There were many greats all through history who also stammered.”
This workshop has brought a clear message to Mangaluru, the city of culture and history, that stammering must be understood and accepted not as a handicap, but as a normal human trait. The governments in India have not visibly shown consideration or concern towards the one crore stammerers it seems and there is a need to extend some concern to such efforts by committed organisations serving the cause of stammerers.