More News

10 Things You Can Do To Help Spread the Word
National Stuttering Awareness Week is May 9-15.
All The Right Words: My Journey as a Sportswriter Who Stutters
Ryan Cowley’s All The Right Words: My Journey as a Sportswriter Who Stutters showcases the message the Stuttering Foundation wants to diffuse to all people who stutter—your stuttering does not have to stand in the way of your dreams.
Q&A with David Wong
David Wong is a dentist who specializes in periodontology and dental implant surgery. He sat down with the Stuttering Foundation to discuss his many life and career successes and a lifelong journey with stuttering.
Recent Studies Add Knowledge About Genetic Factors in Stuttering
Two recent studies have once again focused attention on the role of genetic factors in stuttering. These studies used approaches not previously applied to stuttering, and identified new genetic variants correlated with this disorder.
John Mackay: The Irish-American Bonanza King
John Mackay ranks as the richest Irishman ever in history, as the $1 billion he possessed at the time of his death in 1902 is the equivalent of $80 billion today.
New Book: Two Penguins and a Treasure to Be Discovered
Two Penguins and a Treasure to Be Discovered is an adventure where penguins Jorge and Tito introduce the notions needed to stimulate fluency in young children.
Evaluating Persistence: A Closer Look
Excerpts from Stuttering: Foundations and Clinical Applications, Third Edition, by Dr. Ehud Yairi and Dr. Carol H. Seery.
Books to Talk About
Here are four books you might consider for your bookshelf.
An Adventure
Two Penguins and a Treasure to Be Discovered is an adventure where penguins Jorge and Tito introduce the notions needed to stimulate fluency in young children.
The Perfect Stutter
Author Paul H. Brocklehurst reveals how stuttering throws light on the human condition. He integrates lessons from his personal, often painful, experiences with spiritual and medical theory to gain control over stuttering.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.