Hide | Stuttering Foundation: A Nonprofit Organization Helping Those Who Stutter

Why Me?

The following is Chapter 1 from the book Do You Stutter: A Guide for Teens.

Why Me?

By Richard F. Curlee, Ph.D.

Original Cause of Your Stuttering

An excerpt from the book Self-Therapy for the Stutterer by Malcolm Fraser

Philly Workshop Attracts Speech-Language Pathologists From Around the World

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson, 571-239-7474
greg@curleycompany.com

Rabinowitz Leaves a Legacy in the Animal and Stuttering Communities

MEMPHIS, TN (Aug. 7, 2018) — It is with a heavy heart and immense sadness that the Stuttering Foundation announces the death of our longtime board member, spokesman and friend, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz. Dr. Rabinowitz tragically passed away on August 5 at a Manhattan hospital at age 64 after a lengthy battle with leukemia.

The Stuttering Foundation: Giving a Voice to People Who Stutter for 70 Years

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (May 8, 2017) — The Stuttering Foundation, www.StutteringHelp.org, celebrates its 70^th anniversary this year, marking seven decades as the world’s foremost nonprofit dedicated to helping those who stutter.

Stuttering Foundation Mourns the Loss of Longtime Spokesperson Mel Tillis

Memphis (Nov. 20, 2017) — Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, mourned the loss of country music legend and longtime Foundation spokesperson Mel Tillis following news of his passing at age 85 on Sunday, November 19.

Stuttering Foundation Partners with Boston University for Workshop

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson, 571-239-7474
greg@curleycompany.com

BOSTON (June 25, 2018) — Twenty speech-language pathologists from around the world were chosen to attend an intensive workshop on stuttering therapy.

2016: New Year, Old Fears

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

Annie Glenn

When you hear about famous people who stutter, you often hear stories about the struggles they faced as a young child, before they outgrew or overcame their stuttering. Annie Glenn had a different story to tell. The wife of John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the earth, Annie Glenn lived a very public life with a severe stutter for more than 50 years. She passed away on May 19, 2020.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bob Love

The late Bob Love 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.

Marilyn Monroe

From Edward S. Herrington's letter to Southcoasttoday.com

I am writing in response to "The importance of voice" (May 29), which mentioned that famous actor James Earl Jones struggled with stuttering. Another famous voice that you cited was the trademark breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe; however, you did not make mention of the fact that Marilyn Monroe also struggled with stuttering at various points in her life, sometimes very painfully.

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.”

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.