1. People Who Stutter, parents of stuttering children,Speech Language Therapist's and others who support SAN purposes.
2. The right to vote and to be elected to SAN board and committies is granted to PWS and Parents to stuttering children.
3. SAN board and committies includes Speech Language Pathologist"s nominated by the elected members.
   Therfore, all SAN activities are done in cooperation of PWS and Speech Language Therapist's.
   

Benefits to you:

1. The opportunity to help people who stutter and increase public understand.

2. www.stutteringnigeria.org - The voice of stuttering in Nigeria.

Information on new therapies, alternative approaches to therapy, personal stories and practical tips on living with stuttering.
3. Telephone support scheme.

4. Social events, new friends.

5. SAN national conferences.

6. Information on international conferences.

7. Self help groups around the country.

Benefits to us:

1. Increased membership adds more weight to our voice.

2. Helps us better advocate for the rights of those that stutter.

3. Helps us strengthen our case in funding applications.

Your membership adds weight to our voice

Your legacy to stuttering

SAN has been able to invest in the development of new projects. However, our finances remain very tight. Would you be very interested in supporting SAN through making a legacy?

It would certainly help your loved ones to make a will and please remember the SAN.
Your donation however small, would continue our work and go to help others in the future. For larger donations, we could perpetuate your name in a project you supported.

SELF HELP

What is the relationship between stuttering and anxiety?

It is important to say that people who stutter are no different to those who do not stutter in terms of their personality or mood (Craig, 2000). We have looked long and hard, but we now believe that stuttering does not result from a special type of personality, nor is it caused by being depressed. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that people who stutter have higher levels of social anxiety (Craig 2000), in which the anxiety is more likely a consequence rather than a cause of stuttering. Survey research has found that the majority of people who stutter believe their anxiety plays an important part in their stuttering. Most clinicians who treat stuttering also believe anxiety to be an important component of the problem.
The problem is that research has almost always studied people who have been referred for treatment, and this we believe is a biased sample. It makes sense that those who stutter more severely would have higher levels of anxiety and therefore would seek out treatment more easily.

Are all people who stutter socially anxious?
From our research (see box) the majority (around 60%) had never`sought treatment fro reasons such as: “I am not severe enough” and: “I did not realize I stuttered”. Surprisingly, the total stuttering sample was shown to have higher chronic anxiety levels that people who do not stutter. This suggests that people who stutter (PWS) are at risk of developing higher levels of anxiety than expected, regardless of their severity of stuttering or whether they have had treatment or not. It is important to note that those who had received therapy at some time in their life were more anxious than those who had never sought treatment. We also found that chronic anxiety levels increased with age, at least up to mid-adulthood. Another quite important finding was that women who stutter had consistently higher anxiety scores than men who stutter, right across the lifespan. This information is crucial for improving the management and treatment of stuttering.

Implications for seeking help for stuttering

Clinicians who treat stuttering should be aware that people presenting for help with managing their stuttering are likely to have chronically raised levels of social anxiety. People who stutter should also be aware of the risks of not managing their own anxiety levels and should seek appropriate help in managing their fears and worries. It is important that the treatment is designed to manage anxiety. It is clear that effective treatment that reduces stuttering symptoms will also reduce fear and anxieties as a result of the decreased stuttering. However, given the raised levels of anxiety in people who stutter, it may be wise to seek additional treatment.
Very effective programs have been designed and developed (available as a manual) by the first author to develop self-control over anxiety (Craig, 1998)

These include:
Learning how to control physical anxiety and tension associated with speech fears (towards relaxed speech).

Learning how to control anxious thoughts and feelings associated with stuttering.

(Changing the way you think and talk)

Learning how to control anxiety through strengthening social skills and assertiveness (becoming a socially skilled speaker)

Conclusion
It is becoming clearer that a fluency disorder like stuttering, if it persists past the teenage years, is associated with higher levels of social anxiety. This is especially the case if their stuttering is severe enough to warrant therapy. It is also especially true for women. We should not be surprised that stuttering can cause distress serious enough to create social fears and anxieties. People who stutter should also be more willing to seek additional help that can offer professional guidance in helping them to control their anxiety.
The future is in their hands.
This piece was written by professor Ashley Craig and Dr Yvonne Tran, Department of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney and culled from Speaking Out Magazine.

How you can help your child with his talking:

Here are some ways you can help your child with his talking. You may find some of them easy, others will need practice.

Remember: There is no evidence that parents cause stuttering. Don’t blame yourself!

1. About three times a week, give your child your full attention for five minutes, his “special time” when he is not struggling to talk over others. When it is his turn to speak, give him time to finish what he is saying without interrupting.

Spend time together - follow his lead by playing with what he wants to play with and talking about what he wants to talk about. During this time, encourage him by praising him for what he is good at (eg: “you are good at puzzles” or “ That was nice thing to do”). Make things relaxed rather than rushed).

2. Slowing down your own speech when you talk to your child will make it easier for him to follow what you are saying and help him feel less rushed. This can be more helpful than telling a child to slow down, start again or take a deep breath.

3. It may help to pause for one second before you answer him or ask a question. This slow, less hurried way of speaking gives your child time before answering.

4. Show your child you are interested in what he says, not how he says it. Look at him when he talks, then he knows you are listening and and won’t rush his speech.

If you are busy doing something and cannot st5op, tell your child that, although you are busy, you are still listening, or explaining why you cannot stop, but give him your full attention later.

5. Use the same sort of sentences your child does – keep them short and simple.

Meanwhile do not expect changes in your child’s speech straight away, but practicing these suggestions can help your child to talk more easily.

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SOME MEMBERS BIOGRAPHY

Akintunde Adeyemi obtained his primary school leaving certificate in the year 1994 from Tinumola nursery and primary school Osogbo Osun State Nigeria.He later proceeded to Kidvarc high school Iree Osun State Nigeria in 1995 where he moved over to Federal Government College Ikirun Osun State Nigeria in 1996.He obtained his West African Examination Council Certificate[WAEC] and General Certificate Examination[GCE] in the year 2001 from F.G.C.Ikirun Osun State Nigeria. From there he proceeded to Osun State Polytechnic Iree, where he obtained his OND Certificate in Accounting[2004].

Presently his an undergraduate at Bowen University[Of The Nigerian Baptist Convection]Iwo, Osun State Nigeria studying Economics.

Akintunde Adeyemi is no stranger to the problems of Stuttering after Stuttering from childhood into adulthood.He his currently the editor of the SAN's monthly news letter''Stuttering in Nigeria''.He knows from personal experience what the person who stutters is up against.His introduction to Stuttering corrective procedures came at the age of 17 under the direction of Mr Olatidoye Akingbade and Mr Edward D. Abiodun who at that time acted to be his schoolmates local fluency specialist.A few years later he worked with many different stutterers all over Nigeria including Ivory Coast Republic of Cote D'viore to promote the effective of Stuttering awareness in his country Nigeria [in the year 2003].

Akintunde Adeyemi helped start the Stuttering Association of Nigeria[formely Nigeria Stammering Association]a non profit charitable organization dedicated to the improved treatment and prevention of Stuttering in Nigeria in collaboration with the Speak Clear Association of Cameroun''General Coordinator Mr Joseph Lukong'' who has been working relentlessly to help Stutterers all over Africa.

Adeyemi himself is a severe stutterer and is dedicated to providing practical training so that effective stuttering treatment can be delivered to all people who stutter in his country.

Tunde Adediji is a cousin to the director of SAN and a graduate of Federal Polytechnic Ede Osun State Nigeria. All he he knows is that some times he speaks freely and ot other times he gets miserably stuck. Many times he cried alone about his stuttering and even comteemplated suicide because his stuttering had crept into all aspects of life, his stuttering was truly an “iceberg”.
However, with the director of SAN (“Mr Akintunde Adeyemi”) he was able to manage and control his stuttering successfully, after attending series of self help group with SAN.

Ibiyemi Fabunmi` was born in early 80’s, he started stuttering when he was 4 years.
Stuttering is still part of him up till date he got helped throughthe SAN’s self help group run by Mr Akintunde Adeyemi. He joined SAN after attending one of SAN’s self help group. He is happy today that he is no longer alone with the speech impediment called stuttering because meeting the members of SAN with different stuttering patterns gave him a courage that is not a disgrace or an embarrassment or something to be ashamed of to be a stutterer. His first question when he met the SAN’s director had to do with whether there might be a physical cause for his stuttering? He answered that since no two stutterers stutter alike- yet every stutterer possesses two strong and incapacitating feelings in common. Fear and Anxiety. So if fear of stuttering can be reduced, then certainly stuttering itself can be reduced.

Emeka Chukwura is a Nigerian born in Great Britain. Emeka is a student of bowen university Iwo Osun State Nigeria, studying business Administration is a close friend with the director SAN as they both attend the same University. Emeka is someone whose great interest is stuttering developed when he met Mr Adeyemi at school. He works with him in prevention of stuttering in children, teens and adults. Emeka plans to go for a speech therapy training after his school in order to fulfill his dreams to help stutterers with self confidence to make a contribution to his fellow brothers and sisters of the tangled tongue.

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A Story By Jonas Berinyuy from [SCAC]Cameroun, Africa
One man named Boi was a severe stammerer, of quick temper, very dangerous at times and acted at times like an insane person. The state of Boi caused him and his family to seek treatment. He tried many treatments but there was no change. The combination of several of these treatments instead rendered him deaf and unable to speak at all. The last treatment he tried was a species of herb that he prepared and drank like tea. It is suspected today that he took an overdose of the treatment.
In summary, stammering disorders have never made any good news in the Nso land.
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TESTIMONY
Texting messages has saved me a fortune.

Who is happy about this text messaging? I can hold my hand up and say I definitely am. Now, a quick text only costs me 15 naira. Before, it would cost me 50 naira just to say hello. I can now load up my phone and it lasts me anything from two weeks to a month.

Testimonies of Some Stuttering Experiences

The toughest years of my life were my school years. Totally ignored by schoolmates, neglected by teachers and being incomplete in my parents' eyes, I wondered why I was on this earth. Nobody listened, nobody cared. Nobody loved me. Today I know otherwise.
As a teenager, speaking in class, asking a girl out on a date, trying to talk to a friend on the phone, were not easy for me. I was so afraid of being laughed at, mocked, or confronted about my stuttering, I spent all my energy trying to avoid a block. Most of the time that meant not saying what I wanted to say, not speaking when I wanted to speak. It is horrible to go through life feeling like a spectator. All around you, exciting things are happening; you feel like you are not part of the club, not part of the world around you. You exist in your own little bubble, watching life pass you by. You hear a funny story; you want to add a word or two, but you're afraid it might take too long to get it out; by the time you do, everyone will have walked away.
One thing that always brings tears in my eyes is when we introduce ourselves to the group and one of the children says "Mummy, that lady stutters too.
But the parents have heard some serious things during the day that worries them. They ask us, stuttering adults, how life is. How therapy is. How important it is for them to see us stuttering and having a good life! But some cry. They realize their child might become one of us: a stuttering adult, with little hope for fluency.....
I grew up feeling trapped, alone and isolated. I did not meet another person who stuttered until I was twenty-six years old.
also discovered that I was not alone. Many accomplished actors stutter: Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Austin Pendelton, and the late Marilyn Monroe, to name a few. James Earl Jones, for example, not only stuttered as a kid, but was mute from the ages of ten to fourteen. He went on to win multiple Tony awards, and now is known throughout the world for his voice! (Darth Vader, CNN, the Yellow Pages).
I have heard many stories of adults who always wanted to act but never thought they could because of their stutter. It always breaks my heart when people allow fear to control their lives and don't follow their dreams. My favorite poem is by Langston Hughes:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
I try to live my life by that poem. I try to never let fear stop me from doing what I want to do. And with Our Time, I am trying to pass that on to others who stutter.

We all know about Porky Pig. Last summer's box office hit, Pearl Harbor, was yet another example of how Hollywood can contribute to the negative stereotyping of people who stutter. One of its characters is a person who stutters. The audience goes wild with laughter every time he blocks. At one point, he asks a lady to dance. She replies, "Have you always stuttered?" "Nnnnnno, I only ssssssssstutter wwwwwwwhen I'm nnnnnnnnnervous." I couldn't believe it. Not only is this movie depicting a person who stutters as a clown, it is also misinforming the world about stuttering.

Some partners/friends/family may grow tired of for example, always ordering at a restaurant or making relevant phone calls. Is it worth possibly straining relationships just to avoid stuttering? Stuttering can wreak havoc if you let it. It can pervade your thoughts and bring about "self- preservation" mode. Thus, it can eclipse other important aspects of one's life. If you are fortunate enough to have loving relationships (romantic or platonic) in your life, it may be worth considering the possible ramifications of being overly dependent on others just to avoid stuttering