Appeals: The Association for Stammerers

The Association for Stammerers, which was founded in 1978, is appealing for funds to provide specialist information to parents of pre-school children who stammer and also to create self-help groups for adults who stammer. The association says that about 5 per cent of children under the age of five stammer for at least three months in their early years, but four out of the five grow out of it. If therapy is started early enough on the remaining 1 per cent there is a good chance of reducing the severity of the problem. Stammering is often suffered in isolation, affecting people's self-image and assertiveness as well as blighting their lives socially and in pursuing a career. About 1 per cent of the British adult population stammers.

The Association for Stammerers, St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PL, Telephone 081-983 1003.