William Laven, a 22-year-old young man from Walton, UK, was born with a stammer. Despite experiencing devastating bullying, William is now encouraging others not to let the condition, or the pandemic, hold them back.

He has mobilised a new movement to raise awareness about the impediment, which affects over 150,000 children and young people across the UK. 

Famous People Who Have Had a Stammer

His passion to prove a stammer is not a reason to restrict a child’s life or dreams comes with strong examples. Ed Sheeran, Julia Roberts, Noel Gallagher, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and King George VII all had stammers – none of which let it define them. 

Bridgerton has brought stammering back to our consciousness in the past few months and of course it’s given hope to William and thousands of others to see Joe Biden in the White House, who famously overcame a severe stammer.

Charity Helpline Busier During Covid-19 Pandemic

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Action for Stammering Children‘s (ASC) helpline has received 57% more calls from parents and therapists expressing their deep concern for the levels of anxiety they are witnessing from affected children.

Understandably, with social distancing comes less talking, meaning increased stammering.

William’s Mission

Having recently competed a Business Admin apprenticeship at Publics Media funded by tech start-up WhiteHatWilliam’s mission is to inspire young people to not be afraid, to enter the workplace with confidence, to have ambition and to dream big.

Having become a ‘Stambassador’ for ASC, William established a podcast series named ‘Stammer Stories’, recorded a podcast episode with YouTube royalty Jonathan Saccone-Joly and personally reached out to Buckingham Palace to confirm the Queen’s written support for his mission. William is determined to make a real difference!

A recent poll revealed that over a fifth of Britons felt comfortable making fun of someone with a stammer. William is hoping to inspire greater awareness and compassion for people with the condition.

Find out about the support available, and how you can get involved, here.

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About Author

Nisha Kotecha is the Founder of Good News Shared. Having worked and volunteered for charities in the UK for over 10 years, Nisha is on a mission to highlight how amazing charities are.

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