Is the stammer a disability?

This page outlines very briefly how far a stammer counts as a 'disability' within the Equality Act 2010, or the DDA which it replaces. For more detail, including cases and official guidance, see Disability? - FAQ. Note that different 'disability' tests apply for other legislation, such as welfare benefits.

Example from 2011 Guidance:

Para D17: "...A man has had a stammer since childhood. He does not stammer all the time, but his stammer, particularly in telephone calls, goes beyond the occasional lapses in fluency found in the speech of people who do not have the impairment. However, this effect can often be hidden by his avoidance strategies. He tries to avoid making or taking telephone calls where he believes he will stammer, or he does not speak as much during the calls. He sometimes tries to avoid stammering by substituting words, or by inserting extra words or phrases.

"In these cases there are substantial adverse effects on the person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day communication activities."

It is fairly easy for a stammer to come within the Equality Act or DDA. Broadly, a stammer is covered if it has a substantial adverse effect on one's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, such as having a conversation or using the phone.

This is not a difficult test to meet. 'Substantial' means only 'more than minor or trivial', and see the example to the right. It will depend on the individual facts, but in various tribunal cases it has been accepted without argument that the person's stammer had a substantial effect.

There are also cases though where the employer (or service provider etc) disputes whether the stammer is a disability. If this is disputed, it is for the claimant to bring evidence to show the stammer meets the legal test in his case, or he may be able to show the employer etc (mistakenly) perceived there to be a disability - see next paragraph.

For some types of discrimination - namely 'direct discrimination' and harassment - it is likely to be enough that the employer or service provider etc perceived there to be a disability. It will often make sense to claim 'perceived disability' as an alternative, as well as arguing one has an actual disability which meets the Equality Act definition.

Assuming the stammer counts as a disability - or sometimes if there is a 'perceived disability' - the Equality Act gives you various anti-discrimination rights, including in respect of employment, services and education. (Before October 2010, rights were under the DDA.)

Some individual points:

There are likely to be substantial effects even if you hide your stammer.
There may perhaps be substantial effects where your stammer is not evident because of speech techniques. This applies more clearly if you use an electronic device (such as DAF).
A stammer which no longer has a substantial adverse effect is treated as continuing to have one if such an effect could well happen again in future.
You do not need to register as disabled.
Stammering normally starts in early childhood ('developmental stammering'). Much less common is Stammering starting in adulthood, and that may give rise to further legal issues.
There is official guidance (pdf, link to Office for Disability Issues) on what counts as a disability. More on 2011 guidance.
The 'disability' definition discussed here applies to rights under the Equality Act 2010. There are different disability tests for rights under other legislation, for example on whether a person is entitled to a Blue Badge for parking, or to welfare benefits.

There is much more detail on how far stammering counts as a disability within the Equality Act at Disability? - FAQ, and the pages linked from it.

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Is the stammer a disability?

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