The European League of Stuttering Associations (ELSA) was set up in 1990 by organisations in 12 countries to promote a greater knowledge and understanding of

stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

and to bring together, as a top umbrella organisation, the national stuttering

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

organisations of Europe. ELSA is a trans-national, cross-cultural organisation. It seeks resources only open to multi-national groups, extends the exchange-of-information network, and lobbies for stutterers at a prominent international level. ELSA's work has been recognised by the International Labour Office in Geneva, the World Health Organization in Geneva and the United Nations Office in Vienna. ELSA is also a founding member of the European Disability Forum, an umbrella disability organisation based in Brussels.

Purposes

Its main roles are: * to link together and further the co-operation of Europe's national organisations. * to provide a forum for exchange of concepts and experiences in stuttering therapy and self-help. * to help represent the interests of stutterers to European and international bodies. * to put stuttering onto the European agenda to ensure that the needs and challenges faced by people who stutter are considered in a European context.

Governance

The current executive board consists of Edwin Farr MBEMBE"> (Chair), Anita Blom (Vice-Chair) and Richard Bourgondiën (Webmaster).

Publications

The Association publishes a newsletter, ''One Voice'', which is published twice a year and is a joint project with the International Stuttering Association.

International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD)

Together with the International Fluency Association and the International Stuttering Association, the International Stuttering Association celebrates, every 22 October,

International Stuttering Awareness Day International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD), or International Stammering Awareness Day, is an annual celebration held on October 22. It was first held in the UK and Ireland, in 1998. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the issues ...

(ISAD) which includes an online conference on stuttering and a media campaign.

References

External links