Help Spread the Word About Stuttering

The second full week of May is Stuttering Awareness Week. This is a great opportunity to focus public attention on a complex disorder that touches 80 million people around the world and more than three million in the U.S. alone.

"Actions speak so much louder than words," said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. "This year, the focus of our effort to celebrate Stuttering Awareness Week is to spotlight helpful activities everyone can do for the people who stutter in their lives. One in five children stutters for at least a short period of time, and one in 100 adults struggles with fluency on a regular basis. Most people know someone – a family member, a friend, a coworker or a classmate – who stutters."

1. WATCH A NEW VIDEO: Know a person who stutters, a concerned mom or dad, or a school speech therapist? Ask them if they’ve seen our most recent video titled Kids Who Stutter: Parents Speak available at https://www.stutteringhelp.org/videos.

2. DESIGN A T-SHIRT: At every convention we attend, and on our online store (www.StutteringHelp.org/store), we sell out of our T-Shirts regularly. Help us create a new design! Submit your ideas to info@stutteringhelp.org.

3. SIGN UP FOR SOCIAL MEDIA: Visit us on Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. Engage with thousands of others on topics around stuttering and fluency. Please engage with us on our social media channels and share our content. We love when people “Share” our social media posts on their page because it helps us reach more of the stuttering community.

4. SHARE YOUR CHILD's ART: In our newsletters and on our website, we often feature the drawings, letters and poems created by children who stutter. Please help children who stutter to understand they are not alone! Any child wishing to share their artwork with us, please request a form by emailing us at info@stutteringhelp.org.

5. LEARN ABOUT A FAMOUS PERSON WHO STUTTERS: Learning about famous people who stutter helps us to understand we are not alone in our struggles with fluency. It provides hope and inspires our community with the knowledge that great things can be achieved by people who stutter. Read our ever-growing list of famous people who stutter at www.StutteringHelp.org/FamousPeople.

6. GET INFORMATION: Visit your local public library and ask if they have resource materials on stuttering from the Stuttering Foundation. If they don’t shelve them, tell them they can get a set very easily by contacting info@stutteringhelp.org.

7. SIGN UP FOR EMAILS: If you wish to receive our emails, please send your email address to info@stutteringhelp.org.

8. READ A BOOK: There are many excellent books on stuttering. The Foundation offers several for free in E-book format. Many have been translated into other languages. Visit www.StutteringHelp.org/free-e-books.

9. LISTEN PATIENTLY: When talking with a person who stutters, avoid finishing their sentences unless they invite you to do so. Keep eye contact and be patient – many people who stutter just need a little extra time to finish their sentences. For more tips, see our brochure at www.stutteringhelp.org/brochures.

10. GET THE "I STUTTER" CARD: This card is designed to help people identify themselves in a nonverbal way as someone who may have trouble speaking. Download it at www.StutteringHelp.org/IDCard.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.

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.

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.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.