2016: New Year, Old Fears

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

Memphis, Tenn. (Jan. 11, 2016) — For many people, ringing in the New Year brings hope and joyful anticipation. But for those who struggle with stuttering, the old fears of speaking and being teased are the same.

“I was picked on so much about my stuttering,” recalls 16-year old Peter, “that I wouldn’t even go to lunch because I didn’t want to sit at a table by myself.”

“I don’t raise my hand in class because I’m worried about what others might think,” says 14-year old Juan.

A typical school day can be fraught with painfully embarrassing situations for school-age children who stutter. Parents who notice their child beginning to stutter should seek help right away.

“In the past, experts incorrectly believed that giving attention to a child’s stuttering would exacerbate the situation,” said speech-language pathologist Lisa Scott, Ph.D. of The Florida State University. “We now know that children who stutter will have significantly less disfluent speech and a higher recovery rate if they are treated when they are young.”

To help parents gain a better understanding of stuttering, the Foundation offers a free streaming video in English and Spanish of Stuttering and Your Child: Help for Parents at www.stutteringhelp.org.

“Any time parents are concerned about a child’s fluency,” notes Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, “they should educate themselves about the disorder and the many ways they can work to prevent stuttering from becoming a chronic problem. Early treatment for children who stutter is key!”

For a free copy of the newly-updated brochure, If You Think Your Child Is Stuttering, parents, teachers and others can call the Foundation’s toll-free helpline at 800-992-9392 or visit www.stutteringhelp.org. The site also offers a worldwide referral list of specialists in stuttering.

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Foundation Spokesperson Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser is president of The Stuttering Foundation and co-author of If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents, 8th edition. A duel national with both American and French citizenship, Fraser is also vice president of the Action for Stammering Children, Michael Palin Centre in London.

About the Foundation
Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman and stutterer, established and endowed the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Stuttering Foundation provides a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and free online resources on its Website, www.StutteringHelp.org, including services, referrals and support to people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

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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.

Bruce Willis

While the world knows Bruce Willis as an A-list actor, few know that he struggled with stuttering throughout his first 20 years.

Walter Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in West Germany to his German mother, Marlene, and his American GI father, David Willis. The family settled in David’s hometown of Penns Grove, New Jersey in 1957, and the couple has three other children.

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.

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.

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.