Just Because You Stutter Doesn't Mean You're Alone

It took a long time for me to come to terms with my stutter. Growing up, I didn't want to admit that sometimes I repeated a word or phrase or letter before getting it out. I didn't want to tell my friends and family and acquaintances that I stuttered. Even though millions of people around the world stutter, I felt alone. No one else seemed to talk like me and none of my favorite television shows had characters who sounded like me. Even though an estimated three million Americans stutter, it didn't seem like any of those people were around me. It took a while for me to learn that there were celebrities who stutter and others who have made a difference by portraying people who do. In 2011, The King's Speech won best film at the 83rd Academy Awards and Colin Firth won lead actor. England's Prince Albert, portrayed by Colin Firth, had a speech impediment and eventually took the throne to become King George VI. Musician Ed Sheehan gave an uplifting speech on stuttering and told the audience that "the thing I found most difficult was knowing what to say but not really being able to express it the right way." Actress Emily Blunt had a stutter so bad as a kid, she told NPR, "I struggled with vowels, so 'Emily' was like the depths of hell for me." Vice President Joe Biden talked about overcoming his stutter and has written letters that have helped other stutterers. Everyone liked James Earl Jones as the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King and as the voice of Darth Vader in the orig...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news