THE British Stammering Association is launching two brochures today to give practical advice to employers and employees.
The first booklet on employing a person who stammers, entitled International Stammering Awareness Day, outlines the responsibility employers have under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The second is the employees' brochure and aims to help people who stammer to communicate more effectively.
BSA director Norbert Lieckfeldt said: "In general, most employers are sympathetic to people who stammer, but our members tell us that employers can cause distress because they do not know how to deal with stammering at work and in a job interview." Richard Phillips added: "From my experiences many employers, including my current one, handle these situations well, but some can fail to recognise when a person is disguising their stammer or when their fear of speaking is real.
"This means some talented people are being held back due to ignorance while others are pushed forward before they are ready."
There is a self help group which meets once a month in central Manchester, as well as in other venues in the region. For details of this and the new brochures, contact the British Stammering Association, 15 Old Ford Road, London, E2 9PJ. Tel: 020 8983 1003, or visit the website www.stammering.org
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