Did You Know...

Download a copy of the brochure.

Over three million Americans stutter.
Stuttering affects three to four times as many males as females.
Approximately 5 percent of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts six months or more. Three-quarters of those will recover by late childhood, leaving about 1% with a long-term problem.
Exciting new research in the areas of genetics, neurophysiology, child development, and family dynamics is shedding light on the possible causes of stuttering. As a result, we have made tremendous progress in the prevention of stuttering in young children.
Studies show that people who stutter are as intelligent and as well-adjusted as those who don't.
People who stutter are self-conscious about their stuttering and often let the disability determine the vocation they choose.
There are no instant miracle cures for stuttering.
Stuttering becomes an increasingly formidable problem in the teen years.
James Earl Jones, John Stossel, Kenyon Martin, Annie Glenn, Bill Walton, Mel Tillis, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Carly Simon, John Updike, Ken Venturi, Bob Love, King George VI- all famous people who stutter.

The Stuttering Foundation maintains a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and two Web sites www.stutteringhelp.org and www.tartamudez.org. We work toward the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering, reaching over a million people a year.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

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.

Byron Pitts

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 the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

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.”