By Peter Otuoro
Kenya is faced by a huge shortage of stammering experts to assist thousands of children who are faced by stuttering problems throughout the country.
Stammering is a communication disorder that involves disruption in a child’s ability to produce speech fluently and its adverse big impact on the quality of child’s life.
It is characterized by repetition of parts of words, prolonged words or blockage during speech delivery or speaking period.
Early stammering affects children between two to eight years while late stammering affects children between eight to 12 years.
According to the Stammering expert specialized in Speech and Language Therapy Gladys Rotich, there is a huge shortage of stammering experts in the country to assist children who are faced by that problem in education institutions and also at home.
Rotich revealed that there are only 25 speech and language therapists who are currently handling thousands of Kenya children who are stammering throughout the country.
She said that out of 25 stammering experts only two are Kenyans while the 24 are foreign citizens who are currently working in various organisations to assist Kenyans faced with stammering problems.
Rotich who was speaking at St. Mary Hospital in Gilgil sub- county during International Stammering Awareness Day said that thousands of school going children who are faced with stammering have drop out of school due to stigma they faced when they are being laughed by their fellow children and teachers who in the real sense do not understand what they are passing through.
“Stigmatisation has caused many children affected by stammering to drop out of school because they are being harassed by their fellow children or teachers who do not understand how to handle them to enable them continue with their education”, said Rotich.
She said that stammering awareness should be conducted in all education institutions to educate teachers and learners how to handle stammering children in order to give them a conducive environment to study like their colleagues who are not stammering.
Rotich said school heads should also be inviting stammering experts in their KESSHA and KEPSHA workshops so that they can educate them on how to handle learners who are stammering in order to reduce problems they are currently facing in education institutions.
“Stammering experts should be invited to talk with KESSHA and KEPSHA members on how to handle stammering children because those are Kenya children who have capability to pass and excel in examination”, said Rotich.
She indicated that she has witnessed stammering people holding big positions in the society and doing various professions and it is also good to give other children faced by a stammering conducive environment to excel in academics and life.
Rotich urged the government to employ 47 stammering experts in 47 counties to assist children faced with stammering problems.
“If stammering experts are employed in 47 counties, they will assist children who are faced with stammering problems and they will also be visiting education institutions to educate and sensitize teachers and students on how to handle and understand the children who are faced by stammering”, said Rotich.
She also advised parents to give stammering children enough time to talk, explain themselves and be heard while they are at home so that they can enjoy themselves and be happy like their brothers and sisters at home.
“Parents should give stammering children enough time to say what they want to say, despite taking too long to complete their sentence they deserve time to talk and be heard”, said Rotich.
She also encouraged various employment based professional bodies to understand people who stammer when they come for interview for various jobs.
