No agencies have any authentic statistic and information to be sure about the situation and number of people with stuttering in Nepal. Stuttering problem has been incorporated in the classification of disability under the “speech and sound disability” category. According to the disability identity card distribution directives of government persons with stuttering are eligible to get disability ID card.
NSA is the one and only non governmental organization working for the rights and betterment of persons with stuttering in Nepal. Speech therapy services, social inclusion and development of social awareness are regarded as the key programs to be implemented for people with stuttering.
The problems to be addressed by NSA have been analyzed by dividing them into three different levels. Since NSA is the organization working for the services and rights of persons with stuttering problems its major responsibility goes towards such people. Thus the general problems of persons with stuttering are assumed to be the first level of problem analysis. Similarly the problems of NSA central office and problems of branch office and self-help groups have been analyzed in second and third level respectively.
Problems of People with stuttering
The key problems that persons with stuttering have been facing in the community are difficulty to get required counseling, reatment and therapeutic services easily; barrier to participate and socialize in community and family; problem and barriers to get job and problem to participate in the teaching and learning process. The causes observed behind these problems are lack of awareness in community about stuttering, the negative attitudes and behavior of society towards persons with stuttering, lack of therapeutic services and human resource in local level, high cost to pay for speech therapy in hospitals and lack of special programs and budget from government particularly focusing to the need of people with stuttering. There are direct and indirect negative effects of these problems in the life if persons with stuttering. For example; persons with stuttering have very low participation in the public life. They are victimized by inferiority complex and have nervousness and low confidence level due to
different barriers. They are deprived from various opportunities and far from the opportunity to get improve in their speech even it is possible by speech therapy.
Problems of Nepal Stutter’s Association
There are various problems that NSA, as an organization, has been facing In the course of leading the issues of persons with stuttering. It is challenging to NSA to get addressed the special issues of persons with stuttering in the policies of state. NSA is facing inadequacy of human resource in NSA to operate organization and it has been feeling problem for exercising and establishing modern and fast system for information collection, record keeping, monitoring and evaluation etc. Similarly difficulty
to increase the service coverage of NSA to large number of persons with stuttering and difficulty to move the sustainability plan of organization are also observed as the key problems. The causes identified behind these problems are inadequacy of financial resources, lack of coordination other NGOs and DPOs working on disability, lack of defined and agreed strategy with NSA to lead the issues of persons with stuttering, inadequacy of full time human resource in organization, very few time contribution of board members as volunteer in organization and lack of planned advocacy program