A South Yorkshire content creator has amassed 23 million likes sharing his day to day life with a stammer, and is hoping to inspire others with a speech impediment.
Sam Bagshaw, 29, a warehouse operator from Rotherham first began posting TikToks to increase his own confidence.
“I noticed other people were doing videos and talking about their experiences with a stammer and I saw it was really helping them,” he says. “So I started doing videos in my room to share my experience and then all the support in the comments is what kept me going to do more and more videos and become more confident.
Sam records himself in various everyday life scenarios, such as getting his hair cut and ordering in drive thrus to spread awareness of speech impediments.
“People like that I’m doing things on my own and it’s not stopping me. I think it helps people with a stammer.
“They might find it hard with a stammer, especially with the ordering videos, I know a lot of people might get friends or family to order for them so it’s really good I show that. It’s inspiring people to try it for themselves.”
The content creator’s comment section is a testament to Sam’s work, with thousands of heartwarming responses applauding him.
“Thank you so much for this, my daughter who is seven just got diagnosed with a severe stutter and started speech therapy,” said one viewer. “I admire your courage and bravery so much and hope my daughter does the same.”
Another follower said: “I don’t have a stammer and I still struggle with ordering at restaurants, I always think of you when I do.”
Sam began posting TikToks during the first Covid lockdown, “I always thought when I was younger if I was able to watch someone doing my type of videos then it would have really helped me,” he says.
In 2022, Stamma, the national UK charity for people who stammer, commissioned a YouGov poll that exposed how little representation of stammering there is in the media.
They found that of over 2,000 people asked, 59% said they don’t know a character in a TV series or film who stammered.
Only 2% could name five characters who stammered and many named characters such as Forrest Gump and Rain Man, neither of whom stammer.
CEO of Stamma, Jane Powell, said: “The poll shows just how badly the stammering community is served by our media.
“It is no wonder that people try and hide their stammer or face discrimination and being mocked because of how they talk.
“Most members of the public don’t know how to react to a stammer because it isn’t visible in our media.”
The survey led to a petition calling on all TV and radio stations to ensure that people who stammer are routinely represented in media spaces in all forms, on the news, on soaps and as experts and the campaign gained coverage on ITV, with the support of Ofcom.
Sam noted he has seen a positive change in the perception of speech impediments saying: “I think it has definitely got a lot more better since I was at school and it’s definitely helped with the social media side of thing.”
Michael Wright, a trustee of Empowering Voices, a UK charity dedicated to helping those who stammer echoed the importance of representation saying: “For a long time, the media often used stammering as a joke or to show someone was weak, which simply isn’t true.
“Positive representation is so important because it changes the story. When creators like Sam Bagshaw share their real, unedited voices, it is incredibly beneficial for the stammering community. It builds huge confidence and shows people they aren’t alone.
“This visibility reminds everyone that you don’t need to speak perfectly to be smart, successful, or capable.”
What is a stammer?
Stammering, also referred to as stuttering, usually begins in young children,
Most children begin stammering between the ages of two and five and this is known as developmental stammering, however some people start stammering later on in life.
According to Empowering Voices, at least 1% of the UK population having a stammer, that’s 690,000 in the UK, or 900 stammerers in a Wembley stadium capacity crowd. Worldwide, an estimated 80 million people around the world stammer.
The reason why people stammer is currently unknown, but research shows there’s a slight difference in how the brain is wired in people who stammer.
Stammering often has a genetic link, around 60% of people who stammer have a family member who stammers or used to stammer.
People do not stammer due to nerves or level of intelligence, despite media representations pushing these misconceptions.
Aya Kawamura, from Action for Stammering Children , said: “Many children and young people who stammer experience a profound sense of isolation, often feeling that their stammer prevents them from connecting with others.
“Having positive representation of stammering in mainstream media is incredibly important to the children we support. It helps them see themselves reflected in the world around them and believe in what they can achieve,”
