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While the Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech is universally treasured by the stuttering community, there is a hidden gem on the DVD and Blu-ray editions released in mid-April.

By Jean Gruss

Editor’s Note: Jean Gruss, the author of this article, is the grandson of Stuttering Foundation founder Malcolm Fraser and Mark Logue is the grandson of Lionel Logue.

For decades, Lionel Logue’s name was an obscure footnote in biographies of British King George VI.

But thanks to his grandson and a blockbuster movie, he’s quickly become the most famous speech therapist in history.

"We have a voice. We have been heard."
David Seidler, while accepting his Oscar for The King's Speech

-From the Summer 2011 Newsletter

By Joan Warner

Like David Seidler said in his Oscar acceptance speech for The King’s Speech - “We have a voice. We have been heard”- Stuttering Foundation friend, patron, and unofficial Public Library Ambassador Leon ‘Jigger’ Sirois has been espousing that sentiment for years. Tirelessly working with his late-in-life found fluency on behalf of the Stuttering Foundation and all people who stutter, he too says we can be heard.

The Stuttering Foundation is this year’s recipient of the student-led fundraising campaign organized each year by the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. See donations below. 

Lead singer for the rock band Hello Kelly, Francois “Francy” Goudreault, Jr., was also honored by the Stuttering Foundation. In Hello Kelly’s song Communication Breakdown, Francy and his bandmates have set to music the struggles 65 million people around the world live each day. Francy’s message and achievement amplify hope for a new generation of people who stutter. Hello Kelly is a feisty alt-rock band from Orangeville, ON.