Stuttering is Rocket Science

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 13, 2007) — Stuttering continues to puzzle scientists as they work to find a cause and a cure for this distressing speech problem. A new movie, Rocket Science, shines a spotlight on the disability that affects three million Americans.

The movie, about a high school boy who stutters who is encouraged to join the debate team by a female classmate, was written, directed, and produced by Jeffrey Blitz, who has struggled with stuttering since childhood.

Says Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, "It is particularly exciting to know that Jeffrey Blitz stutters himself and thus has a real feel for what the person who stutters encounters every day!"

Blitz has been added to the Foundation's list of famous people who stutter at www.stutteringhelp.org, where he joins a list of celebrated actors such as James Earl Jones and Bruce Willis.

In an interview with the New York Sun's James Snyder, Blitz related that the challenges he faced because of his stuttering molded his interests as a filmmaker. He added, "Now I'm a real word lover. I love the power of specific words."

Turning what might have been considered a disability into a strength, Blitz said, "As a stuttering kid, you learn tons of words because you substitute words as you speak, trading out words you can say with words you get stuck on."

In this way, he added, "You develop a real admiration for the power of words that fluent kids might not come to."

Stuttering is a speech disorder that affects 1% of the worldwide adult population, while some 5% of the child population struggles with stuttering at some point in their development. The nonprofit Stuttering Foundation at www.stutteringhelp.org, provides numerous resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

John Melendez

He is a talented musician, actor, and comedian. Listen to a podcast.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Bill Walton

From BillWalton.com

Thank you for your interest in my life long problem with my speech and communication skills. I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old. Always a success in the classroom and on the basketball court, I took refuge in the things that I did well as a youngster. A straight A student, my athletic abilities covered the deficiencies that limited my overall growth and development. The game of basketball was my religion, the gym my church. It was a convenient way of avoiding my responsibilities of developing my human relation skills.

When I was 28, a chance encounter at a social event with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman completely changed my life in so many ways that things have never been the same since, nor have they ever been better. That day, in a very brief, private conversation (one way, mind you, since I literally could not speak at the time) Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright and that like any skill, whether it be sports, music, business or whatever, needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline, organization and practice. Marty gave me some simple tips that day and then encouraged me to take those keys and apply them to methods of learning that I had received from the special teachers that I had come across in my life, particularly the 6 Hall of Fame basketball coaches that I had played for throughout my career. The beginning of my whole new life was as simple as that. No gimmicks, tricks or shortcuts. Just the realization that with some help, guidance and a lot of hard work that I too could do what seemed so easy, simple and natural to everyone else, yet seemed impossibly out of my reach and comprehension.