Belfast group leader given honorary award

Image

Caption

Peter (centre) with his award (image courtesy of Peter Bradley)

Peter Bradley, STAMMA Member and co-founder of the Belfast Stammer Support group, received an Honorary Fellowship at last night's RCSLT Awards 2024.

The Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) Awards ceremony, held in London yesterday, recognised the achievements of those who support speech and language therapy and have made a difference to the lives of service users. 

Peter was recognised for the outstanding work he has done in his personal and professional life to help people who stammer. This includes setting up the Belfast Stammer Support group with his friend Jamie, which attracts adults and families from all over Northern Ireland for friendship, support and mentoring. In his job in the fire & rescue service, Peter delivers training to help 999 call handlers support callers with additional communication needs.

He was nominated by Ruth Sedgewick, Head of RCSLT's Northern Ireland office, who said in her nomination video: "Peter is hugely deserving of this award. He is one of a kind, and goes above and beyond to champion the needs of those living with speech, language and communication differences and needs".

Image

Caption

L-R: Nick Hewer (RCSLT President), Ruth Sedgewick, Peter, Lisa (Peter's wife) and Steve Jamieson (RCSLT CEO) (Image courtesy of Peter Bradley)

On a LinkedIn post, Peter said, "What an amazing honour. When I reflect on today it makes me want to put my arm around the 13-year-old version of myself. The boy who went to bed some nights afraid of the class register in school the next morning. Look at what you have done. Look at how far you have come".

He added, "Special mention to my wife Lisa Smyth for supporting all my stammer-related endeavours. But most importantly for waiting on me to finish my sentences on our first date".

Huge congratulations to Peter!

Read more about Peter in his article 'I Could Roar'. If you live in Northern Ireland, find out more about Peter & Jamie's Belfast Stammer Support group. For a list of other groups in the UK, see our Communities & Groups page.