And Now, a Word About Words!

Several years ago, the Stuttering Foundation published two essays from aspiring young writers. Recently, we caught up with them to see what they are up to. Myles, then a 16-year-old junior in high school, wrote A Word About Stuttering , published in our Winter 2010 Newsletter and Rachel, then a 17-year-old senior in high school, wrote Through the Written Word for the Fall 2010 Newsletter. Here is where they are four years later:

From Myles: “Hi! It’s so great to hear from you--thanks so much for getting in touch! I’m thrilled to hear that people appreciated my essay. I remember having a lot of fun writing it and being really happy that you decided to publish it.

Right now, I am a junior at Kenyon College, where I am pursuing an English major with a concentration in creative writing. I am currently taking a fiction seminar, and am an associate for the Kenyon Review, a nationally known literary magazine. I will be studying at Oxford in the spring, and I hope to complete a creative thesis next year as a senior. I'm also involved in the jazz band here, and spend a lot of time playing video games with friends and going to the gym! Stuttering remains a big part of my life, and can still frustrate me at times, but it has become much more manageable, and I'm less self-conscious about it than I used to be.

Speaking of which, I recently met with Kristin M (my speech therapist who helped coordinate my writing the article for you) and spoke with Mike Turner, who is currently at work on a very cool documentary about stuttering--he even interviewed me for it! (Mike Turner’s feature length documentary “The Way We Talk” is coming Summer 2014.) I think he’s working on a very cool project that would be worth checking in on!”

Thanks again for staying in touch and for your kind words. Sincerely, Myles

Editor’s Note: Myles also tells us that he continues to encourage other kids who stutter to keep up a good attitude and never let go of their dreams – that stuttering isn’t who you are, it’s just a part of how you are made up. Find your passion and follow it! Good advice that we endorse!

From Rachel: Hey there! I am simply elated to hear from you! Thank you so much for contacting me! It's amazing to know that, three years later, my essay can still bring comfort to teens and young adults just like me. I’m still in love with writing — in fact, I’ll graduate from Western Kentucky University with a degree in English this upcoming May! I’ve learned and experienced a lot in college. I’ve even been fortunate enough to publish two short stories in a small literary journal.

Two years ago I began writing a blog about stuttering, and some incredible things happened as a result: first, I was featured in my college newspaper, and the article helped stutterers from my campus who were experiencing similar struggles. Second, I was asked to be a guest on a New York podcast called “Women Who Stutter.” Since I rarely come across female stutterers, this podcast became an enormous comfort for me.

Currently, I’m writing a memoir about stuttering, but more specifically, the culture and misconceptions surrounding it. For me, writing has continued to be an outlet in understanding — and even embracing — my stutter. Silence is such a huge temptation for stutterers to fall into, but I’ve learned the more I speak and write about my stutter, the more confident I become...and the happier I feel. In fact, that's my advice to all stutterers: be honest, and talk about it. You have no idea how therapeutic it can be, and how significant it is in making you a successful, confident adult (who just happens to stutter!).

Here are the links to the campus newspaper article and the podcast: http://tinyurl.com/kmrlnqp (article) and http://tinyurl.com/lppq7uu (podcast).

You have no idea how much hearing from you made my day! Thank you so much for thinking of me and tell everyone out there to keep up the good work and a good attitude!

Best, Rachel.

From the 2014 Winter Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

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.

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin, the basketball sensation who was named to the NBA’s All Star Team in 2004, joins other famous people who stutter in a new brochure. The brochure - which unfolds into a small poster - is available free of charge from The Stuttering Foundation.

The poster is intended to give children and adults who stutter inspiration as they grapple with their speech disorder.

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.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, is well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones has spoken some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.