An Ashville College Sixth Form pupil is playing a leading role to help dispel misconceptions and prejudices about stammering.
Working with Action for Stammering Children, Thomas Grattoni-May has helped develop an interactive game – ‘Stamback in Time’ – which highlights a number of famous stammerers and their influence on society, including Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, and the rapper Stormzy.
Thomas and his colleagues on the charity’s Youth Panel worked alongside the London Metropolitan Archives to produce the fun, interactive microsite which includes online games, a PDF download and facts about each celebrity.
It has taken two years to complete and has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Thomas, who is using his work with the charity to go towards the volunteering section of his Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, is now assisting at a national level to help spread word of the game to schools across the UK.
In addition to emailing schools and colleges, Thomas, a member of the Youth Panel’s communications team, is planning to stage a series of online assemblies where he and other team members will talk about the charity and the game, as well as sharing their own experiences of living with a stammer.
Thomas said: “The aim of this game is to highlight some very well-known people and influence they have had on society. I’m particularly pleased that Joe Biden won the US Presidential election, as he too has a stammer. “As many as one in 12 children have a stammer and many of them are bullied as a result.
“This game lets them know that a stammer should not hold them back in their studies, and should certainly not stop them achieving their goals and dreams.
“Action for Stammering Children is a fantastic organisation and I’m honoured to be a part of its Youth Panel. For any child with a stammer, I would encourage them to play this game, and find out more about the charity which has done so much to help and support me.”
Further information about Action for Stammering Children and ‘Stamback in Time’ is available from the charity’s website: https://actionforstammeringchildren.org/stamback-in-time
For more information about Ashville College, please visit www.ashville.co.uk or call 01423 566358.