Sometimes I Just Stutter Helps Children Worldwide

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 7, 2011) — "Sometimes I'm scared to stutter because some of my friends will call me names and it makes me sad," wrote Brad, age seven.

Amy shared, "People laugh at me and when they do, it makes me so sad inside of me."

Brad and Amy, in the book Sometimes I Just Stutter, are getting letters from children around the world.

This 40-page book, available free as an e-book from the Stuttering Foundation, is written for children ages 7-12. It covers a range of topics: why stuttering varies across situations and days, common feelings and emotions children have because of stuttering, how to handle teasing, and who can help.

Also included are sample letters children can use to write to their teachers, parents, grandparents, siblings, and other relatives.

Ann Mitchell, a school-based speech-language pathologist, said she uses the book in therapy, "This book helps me talk to the children about how they're feeling and then start helping them make positive changes."

The letters from children make it clear that stuttering is no joke.

While many letters discuss negative experiences with stuttering, some children write about how they've learned to cope with stuttering. They share how speech therapy is helping them, what they want listeners to do when they stutter, and that it is OK to stutter.

Says Lisa Scott, Ph.D., of The Florida State University, "I have been using this book in therapy with all my school-age clients. We read it together, then discuss or write how the experiences of the characters in the book are similar to or different from the child's own experiences."

For more information about this wonderful book, which has been translated into several languages and is also available for the Kindle, call 800-992-9392 or download your own copy at www.StutteringHelp.org. The book includes Myths About Stuttering in a colorful, new format.

###

About the Stuttering Foundation
Malcolm Fraser felt the same dread of speaking in public that King George VI experienced in the 1940s. Inspired by the plight of “Bertie”, Fraser, a successful businessman and stutterer, went on to establish and endow the 64-year-old 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.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

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.

Emily Blunt

Actress Emily Blunt struggled with stuttering early in her life. A teacher encouraged her to act in a school play at age 12 despite her stuttering.

Blunt’s name is prominently featured on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter.

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.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.