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Sharjah Women’s College girl overcomes stuttering

SHARJAH — Stuttering and lacking confidence, a young lady was the focus of media attention recently following her dramatic improvement after treatment for severe speech impediment.

Asma Al Shamis, a student of Sharjah Women’s College, showed dramatic improvement after treatment in Canada. And, to mark the 10^th anniversary of International Stuttering Awareness day on Sunday, Asma’s transformation was featured on Canadian TV and in the national media.

During the summer break, Asma spent six weeks at the University of Alberta’s Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR), where she underwent intensive speech therapy.

The 21-year-old struggled with a debilitating speech impediment that affected her confidence, academic performance and her personal life. She was identified by Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology faculty staff as being in need of urgent help.

College Director Dr Farid Ohan was instrumental in arranging treatment for her and Business faculty supervisor, Lauralee Kilgour, and student counsellor, Fadwa Lkorchy, spent time with Asma while she underwent treatment in Canada.

The young lady returned a rejuvenated person after a positive response to the treatment. So impressive was her progress that Canadian TV and newspapers featured her dramatic progress in a series of articles and documentaries.

Last week Asma was interviewed on Canadian TV in a 30-minute documentary on stuttering and she featured in the ‘Edmonton Sun’, ‘The Calgary Herald’ and ‘Alberta Express’.

“Before coming to ISTAR . . . I couldn’t speak to people,” Asma said during a video-linked interview on Thursday from Sharjah. Speaking carefully but virtually stutter-free, Asma said: “It felt like words were stuck in my throat and I couldn’t get them out.”

Asma speaks four languages but her severe stutter meant that she was hardly able to speak a word. It had a major impact on her life. She was unable to gain acceptance into the Bachelor’s programme at the HCT because of her inability to pass the oral exam, a prerequisite to enter into the health sciences.

ISTAR Executive Director Deborah Kully said stuttering can be as crippling a disorder as any, but often it was a problem not taken seriously. “Availability of help differs widely across the world,” she said.

“Asma was virtually living in silence before she came. She couldn’t respond to a stranger, she couldn’t ask a question and, despite being a very bright girl, she couldn’t move forward in her studies.”

After six weeks, Asma’s speech improved and she experienced a profound transformation, which culminated in a short, confident speech to an audience of about 60 people on her last day in Edmonton and then another, this time to about a crowd of about 200 faculty members at Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology.

She has since fulfilled her oral requirements and is studying health sciences and plans to work in medical lab technology.

She has also indicated that she is now thinking of pursuing a Master’s in speech-language pathology once she completes her Bachelor’s.

“Before I wanted teachers to avoid looking at me or picking me,” she said. “I now speak in front of my teachers and they listen to my speech,” she said.

Stuttering affects one in 100 people, according to reports. Although there is evidence that stuttering has a genetic basis and a neurophysiological component, researchers have yet to discover its exact cause.