Stuttering Foundation Gets Starring Role on The King's Speech DVD

While the Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech is universally treasured by the stuttering community, there is a hidden gem on the DVD and Blu-ray editions released in mid-April.

A 60-second public service announcement (PSA) created by the Stuttering Foundation is included in the “Special Features” section of the DVD and Blu-ray release. The PSA features children who stutter sharing their own experiences with stuttering and treatment, and offers assistance through the Foundation’s website and toll-free hotline.

“We’ve been stunned by the tremendous response to the public service announcement from viewers across the country looking for help with stuttering,” said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation.

“Inclusion of our PSA on the DVD is so marvelous for our cause.”

“We hope a copy of The King’s Speech DVD, including our video, will end up in the home of every person who stutters, every speech therapist’s office, every school counselor’s desk and every university speech-language course professor’s briefcase,” Fraser said. “It is a story worth seeing over and over again for years to come.”

-From the Fall 2011 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

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.

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

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.