SPACE (Stuttering, People, Arts, Community, Education) creates a more accessible and inclusive world for youth and adults who stutter, through online arts programming, education, and (non-lobbying) advocacy initiatives. We promote acceptance of all speech variations, forge meaningful human connections, change the way the world listens and create space for stuttering.
SPACE operates fully online to make sure all people who stutter have access to our programming, regardless of location. Specializing in the intersections of stuttering and the arts, SPACE creates unique support spaces for all people who stutter, while seeking to shift society’s understanding and treatment of stuttering as a whole. We strongly believe that everyone benefits when we learn how to truly listen to one another and celebrate people’s authentic voices.
Stuttering is a neurological speech difference affecting approximately 5% of all young people. Though some people's stutter may naturally diminish, 1% of the population will continue to stutter for the rest of their lives. People who stutter can sometimes find it hard to engage with everyday activities like answering the phone, ordering in restaurants or speaking up in school. It may be more challenging for them to make friends and frequently experience shame, marginalization and bullying. Based on the extreme impacts of stuttering on their lives, some young people especially will struggle with debilitating anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation. By engaging with an organization that establishes community, improves confidence, and gives space to process and express through the arts, youth and adults who stutter can see a significant turnaround in the trajectory of their lives.
With this in mind, SPACE believes that one of the best ways to support adults who stutter is by prioritizing arts services for youth who stutter. By receiving services from us early in their trajectory, the positive impact on their confidence, self-acceptance and overall mental health will continue into adulthood. Therefore, we maintain a strong youth focus in our approach and will seek to prioritize allocation of our resources to serve young people.
By operating completely online and employing a tiered pricing model, we ensure that our programming is affordable and accessible for people who stutter from all backgrounds and ability to pay. We especially seek to connect with Indigenous, racialized, and under-resourced communities across the continent.
SPACE has three central pillars that make up our offerings:
1) Arts and Community Program:
Run by a highly trained staff of professional Artist Educators, including many adults who stutter, our programming will run year round in once-weekly sessions. Participants are given the opportunity to have deep and meaningful conversations, process and express their feelings surrounding their stutter through art, and create collaboratively in small groups. Programming is highly specialized and based in Trauma-Informed practice, which recognizes the potential impact of trauma (related to stuttering or not) on participant’s lives. This approach greatly helps to create a more supportive and inclusive environment that promotes healing, self-acceptance and growth. SPACE will begin by offering programming for cohorts ages 7-18 and 18-21, with the goal to offer 21+ programming moving forward.
SPACE will launch its first official semester of online Arts and Community Programming in March 2024.
2) Listening Workshops:
SPACE will engage with educators, schools and businesses to offer listening workshops to improve work-place and school-based communication skills. We present these trainings through the lens of stuttering; if teachers or managers can learn how best to listen to and support a person who stutters, not only will the organization/classroom operate in a more equitable and accessible way for employees/ students with speech differences, individuals will also become better listeners and communicators with folks who do not stutter. Additionally, by engaging with this population outside of the stuttering community, SPACE is able to perform important advocacy work in raising stuttering awareness.
3) Advocacy
SPACE is committed to making a meaningful difference in the representation of stuttered voices in society and media. We believe that the central motivator behind stuttering stigma is a lack of awareness from the general public of the experiences and communication style of people who stutter. Through strong storytelling, (non-lobbying) advocacy initiatives and the creation of new and innovative content, we seek to platform the voices of people who stutter, normalize stuttering, and increase media visibility.
We believe that creative, high-quality, and effective visual storytelling is the key to achieving our mission. The media we develop will spread our message of the transformative power of slow, patient, empathetic listening, and elevate the voices of those who have been marginalized.
Finally, SPACE acknowledges and embraces the intersectionality of our members, understanding that every individual embodies a unique combination of identities including race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, as well as their stuttering identity. We strive to create an inclusive, accepting, and compassionate environment that embraces these diverse identities and experiences, and seek to dismantle structural obstacles that prevent folks from receiving the support and acceptance they deserve.
We know that the impact of this organization on people who stutter – and the world at large – will be massive and life-changing. SPACE is committed to creating real and actionable change in the stuttering community, and is looking forward to playing a vital role in shifting the landscape of society to a more equitable and accessible place.
