Stuttering Foundation Celebrates National Stuttering Awareness Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Greg Wilson
greg@curleycompany.com
571-239-7474

Memphis, Tenn. (May 6, 2021) — Monday, May 10, 2021, marks the beginning of National Stuttering Awareness Week, a weeklong spotlight on the condition affecting more than 70 million people worldwide. For this year’s celebration, the world’s oldest and largest Foundation dedicated to helping those who stutter is focused on fighting myths associated with the speech disorder.

“For as long as people have been stuttering, there have been myths surrounding the condition,” said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. “We work hard to raise awareness about stuttering, to provide help to the stuttering community, and to set the record straight.”

Myth: People who stutter are not smart.
Reality: There is no link whatsoever between stuttering and intelligence. The Stuttering Foundation keeps an updated list of famous people who stutter, which includes world-renown scientists Charles Darwin and Alan Turing.

Myth: Nervousness causes stuttering.
Reality: Nervousness does not cause stuttering. Nor should we assume that people who stutter are prone to be nervous, fearful, anxious, or shy. They have the same full range of personality traits as those who do not stutter. In fact, the Stuttering Foundation has created an “I Stutter Card” for travelers moving through airport security and Customs, during police stops and other interactions with authority figures.

Myth: Stuttering can be “caught” through imitation or by hearing another person stutter.
Reality: You can’t “catch” stuttering. No one knows the exact causes of stuttering, but recent research indicates that family history (genetics), neuromuscular development, and the child’s environment, including family dynamics, all play a role in the onset of stuttering.

Myth: It helps to tell a person to “take a deep breath before talking,” or “think about what you want to say first.”
Reality: This advice only makes a person more self-conscious, making the stuttering worse. More helpful responses include listening patiently and modeling slow and clear speech yourself.

Myth: Stress causes stuttering.
Reality: As mentioned above, many complex factors are involved. Stress is not the cause, but it certainly can aggravate stuttering.

For more than 70 years, the Stuttering Foundation has served as a trusted resource for the stuttering community, offering brochures, e-books, podcasts, videos, a magazine, virtual learning and multiple social media channels to spread timely and accurate information about stuttering.

About the Stuttering Foundation

Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who struggled with stuttering, established and endowed the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Foundation provides free online resources at StutteringHelp.org for people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering. For more information, visit www.StutteringHelp.org.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.

Bruce Willis

While the world knows Bruce Willis as an A-list actor, few know that he struggled with stuttering throughout his first 20 years.

Walter Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in West Germany to his German mother, Marlene, and his American GI father, David Willis. The family settled in David’s hometown of Penns Grove, New Jersey in 1957, and the couple has three other children.

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.