London ,
01
April
2015
|
11:09
Europe/London

Islington charity helps stammering children - thanks to City Bridge Trust grant

The City of London Corporation’s charity, City Bridge Trust, has awarded a grant of £60,000 to Action for Stammering Children (ASC), to provide more help for children living with speech problems.

About 5 per cent of young children stammer at some point - and approximately 1 per cent continue to stammer into adulthood.

For over 20 years ASC has delivered specialist services including speech and language therapy. Last year, it reached more than 2,700 children across London. The grant from City Bridge Trust will fund family consultation sessions, which will help children to build their confidence and reach their full potential. The support is focused on helping young people with stammers, in order to understand more about their condition and develop coping mechanisms. This reduces the likelihood of them developing mental health issues, and social anxiety.

ASC, which was established in 1989, is based at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children. Following his role in A Fish Called Wanda, in which he portrayed a character who stammered, the Monty Python star agreed to the centre being named after him. He based the role on his own father who had a stammer his whole life.

Balshen Izzet, Chief Executive of Action for Stammering Children, said: "We are thrilled with the continued support from the City Bridge Trust for a further two years. With the Trust’s help and support, our small charity can make a big difference to the lives and opportunities of children and young people across London who stammer and their families by providing specialist consultations. We are looking forward to working with the Trust over the next two years.”​​

Chairman for the City Bridge Trust Jeremy Mayhew, said: “Young people who stammer face a number of complex issues including social exclusion and bullying. The work of ASC is vital in giving these young people a safe and non-judgemental environment, in which they can learn more about what triggers their stammer. The grant will enable ASC to help more children and teenagers across London.”

For more information, visit http://www.stammeringcentre.org/association-home

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