Tuesday 24th October 2023 - 10:23
Remembering STAMMA member Faizan Sheikh, who has sadly passed away aged 20, following a short illness.
We are extremely sad to share this news. Faizan was an active member of our Space For Stammering Facebook group, where he regularly posted videos to raise awareness and inspire others who stammer.
Using his popular TikTok account, Faizan filmed himself going into shops and restaurants and letting staff know that he stammered, before ordering food. See his video 'How to order Greggs with a stammer: Loud and proud' below, where he got a great response when he asked the person to bear with him.
My message to people is: Don't let your stammer or disability define who you are... Why try to fit in when YOU were born to stand out?"
Faizan Sheikh, 'Lifting Up Faizan's Voice', ACPA
As well as being a STAMMA member, Faizan was involved with the Starfish Project. Anne and David Blight from Starfish said, in a Facebook post, "Faizan's enthusiasm and kindness will be much missed by us and many people in the Starfish family. He gave up much time to trying to improve public awareness of stammering."
Faizan's efforts were recognised when he won a Young Person's award at the National Association for Special Educational Needs Awards for his inspirational work on social media. You can see him proudly holding his well-deserved award in the picture above.
STAMMA member Usman Choudhry, who knew Faizan, said, "Rest in Peace Faizan. Faizan had a speech impediment so we regularly spoke on the phone to support each other. A couple of years ago he interviewed me for a project he was doing which was great fun. He raised awareness of stammering and worked really hard on his health issues. My thoughts are with his family, in particular his Mother, Taiba, who Faizan described as his greatest inspiration".
Faizan was quoted in this piece for the American Cleft Palate Cranio-facial Association:
"I went on BBC Radio Manchester, Manchester Evening News, NWT, and the Granada Reports. I want this journey to continue where I do amazing things. I want to bring change back. I want to inspire people to use their voice. My message to people is: Don't let your stammer or disability define who you are. This is a message to the younger people as well. Why try to fit in when YOU were born to stand out. I feel like it's so important to raise awareness about disability and stammering. I just want to change peoples' lives and help people find their voices."
Our thoughts go out to Faizan's family at this difficult time.
(Picture taken from Faizan's Facebook account)
