By Paul Noor

As a child growing up in a small village north of Iran, just south of Russia, I struggled with a severe stutter and even considered not talking and learning sign language. Today I am a speaker and speak at businesses, clubs, schools, colleges, churches and correctional facilities.

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges,released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become a national correspondent with CBS News.

The following letter appeared on Feb. 20, 2010, in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis.

The May 15 article "Study hints at stuttering as an inherited trait of genes" brought back memories of Malcolm Fraser, who founded a stuttering institute in Memphis.

My brothers Bill and Bob and I were active in the then Man-for-Boy Club in the 1950s, which was based at the Downtown YMCA on Madison.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (August 1, 2012) — New York Jets cornerback Ellis Lankster vividly remembers his own difficulties with stuttering in the classroom.

Stuttering Foundation's 65th Anniversary