Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members already know now, tomorrow, October 22nd , is International Stuttering Awareness Day, and

I’m going to use my statement today to talk about stuttering.

Statistics show that in the NWT alone approximately 500 children and adults could be affected by stuttering, but it’s a little known, little acknowledged condition, Mr. Speaker. We don’t often speak about it. Stuttering is a condition which we as a society are uncomfortable with. It’s a disability that’s kept in the shadows, one that nobody talks about.

For differing reasons, people with a stuttering disability tend to avoid being out in the public. They

cut themselves off from the world to avoid speaking. But when humans remove themselves from society, it has devastating consequences for both the individual and for societies. That’s because we as human beings are social creatures, Mr. Speaker. We learn through socializing and personal interaction, and that means talking to each other. We preserve our history through oral stories, the spoken word passed down from generation to generation. Thankfully society has come a long way in our acceptance of people with disabilities. We now include them in our regular school classes. We welcome the diversity they bring to our communities and our workplaces.

Stuttering, however, is a disability that children still report being teased and bullied about and children can outgrow stuttering, but many do not. It’s a condition which can be helped, it can be modified, it can even be cured, and any child who stutters should be assessed by a speech language pathologist. The earlier a child gets help, the better he or she is.

So what can we do to accommodate stutterers? We can accept them as valued members of our society, just as they are. We can encourage them when conversing by making eye contact and not looking away. We can encourage them by not finishing their sentence, just be patient and give them time to say what they have to say.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to also honour Ms. Karen Hollett, who is here with us today. Karen recently published her first book Hooray for Aiden. She is the author and the publisher of the book and, again, it’s about a young girl who stutters. The book itself has received rave reviews from North American and British stuttering associations. Congratulations on your achievement, Karen, well done.