I met Peter Holleley fourteen years ago, when running a Toastmasters Group for People who Stutter in Toronto. In his early 60s, he was older than most people attending the group. He liked to talk, as a lot of people who stutter do. We heard about his childhood growing up in Britain, his Ten Month Great Adventure hitchhiking as a young man in North, Central and South America, his business ventures, and his three children. Given his age, I was surprised to find out that two of his children, a son and a daughter, of whom he was a single father, were still in their pre-teen years.

This is a controversial question, there is no right or wrong answer. It is a matter of personal preference and risk tolerance. Personally, I have always disclosed my stutter on job applications. In instances where an employer sought candidates from employment equity groups, disclosing my stutter assisted me to receive an interview, or  progress in the recruitment process or competition.

Mathew Yaworski, Employment Advocacy Coordinator for the Canadian Stuttering Association, shares his advice on determining the inclusivity of potential employers in Canada.

I am a Person Who Stutters (PWS). Are there employers who are better than others at recruiting and supporting people like me?

When Dimitri was a young boy growing up, his stutter prevented him from getting a word into many conversations. He would grunt with frustration and make a fist with his hand anytime his stutter would cut off his sentences. The words were on his mind, but nothing would come out of his mouth except for a stammer. His parents tried many solutions to help their son – taking him to speech therapy, speech exercises – you name it. The tactics didn't help, and the family, who loved their son deeply and only wanted the best for him, had to accept that Dimitri would have to live with his stutter.

Hi CSA! My name is Jordan Bloom, and I am so beyond excited to join the Board of Directors as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Canadian Stuttering Association. I’m currently based in Toronto, where I work at a creative advertising agency as an Art Director, helping form the big ideas that serve as the basis of integrated campaigns. I have a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management from the University of Guelph, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Art Direction from Humber College.

Hello Canadian Stuttering Association (CSA) members and our wider community. I am your newest Employment Advocacy Coordinator. I am a life-long stutterer. While the severity of my disfluency has improved with the benefit of therapy, my stutter remains.  

One of our members, Peter Holleley, was in a serious human rights dispute with the Landlord Tenants Board (LTB) which he then escalated to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO). CSA is supporting him and reaching out to see if there are other PWS in Ontario or the rest of the country who have had problems with the LTB, or any negative experience of being in a legal system where stuttering is not accommodated for. He is also looking for legal advice from a lawyer or paralegal.