10 weeks. 2 dance novices (and total strangers!). 1 glitzy dance competition. What could go wrong?

Dan and Poppy are fundraising for Action for Stammering Children! 

And possibly putting their dignity on the line... so please be generous

What we’re doing

On October 17th, we will be competing against 11 other couples in a charity Strictly Come Dancing competition. We will be performing in front of a live audience and being scored by a celebrity guest judge panel. Neither of us have any dancing experience and we’ll be dedicated our Friday nights to trying to learn. We also didn’t know each other before this.

Why we are doing this: Dan’s story

I’ve had a stammer for as long as I remember – since I began to speak, in fact. And for a child trying to make sense of the world around them, discover where they fit into it and – most importantly – make friends along the way, having a severe stammer can be very debilitating. From having this speech impediment, I was reminded that I was different every time I opened my mouth. Whether it be from occasionally elongating certain syllables, repeating certain words or creating strange facial expressions as I strained to reach for a word without any sound coming out. 

As you’d expect, this doesn’t fill a child with the confidence necessary to thrive in social situations, and in some cases can even elicit minor anxiety. A little voice inside your head saying that if you try to speak, you’ll only embarrass yourself. Sadly, among children and adults alike, the common response to these voices is to speak up less, or simply avoid social situations altogether. Importantly, by avoiding the problem, I didn’t allow myself the opportunity for these voices to be proved wrong. I didn’t allow myself the experience of being able to attempt to say a word, stammer, then continue with little ramifications.

Luckily, my time at a local speech therapy clinic helped bring my attention to these behaviours perpetuating my stammer, and taught my family and I techniques to help manage it. Collectively, this support helped to endow me with more confidence when entering social situations and therefore make friends. These techniques are still useful today and have helped me greatly in particularly anxiety-prone situations such as presentations and interviews. Without that help, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.

Where your money will go: Action for Stammering Children

Naturally, these speech therapy clinics need funding to survive and continue helping children like Dan. 

That’s where Action for Stammering Children (ASC) comes in. ASC is a UK-based charity that aims to ensure that everyone with a stammer has access to effective treatments to overcome any challenges thrown at them, integrate into society and lead a more fulfilling life. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, ASC has helped change the lives of over 88,000 children and young people, but in order to continue these life-changing services, more funds are needed.

So please give whatever you can! It goes to an excellent cause, and will make all our hard work (and possible humiliation) worth it!