My Disability Lesson

By Andrew Feese
2010 FAME Essay Winner

This is a new age for people who are disabled. There are electronic aides, there are therapists, and there are exceptions.

I have a speech impediment. I am lucky that help is available. After I make a verbal comment or engage in public speaking, I can see people with that God-bless-him-he-tries-so-hard smile. I can recall a time my freshmen year when we had an assignment in English to recite Shakespeare’s, “All the World’s a Stage” in front of the class. I was excused from it, I guess, because the teacher thought I would be uncomfortable. She was right, I would have been. I ended up doing a word search instead.

It was not until about halfway through my junior year that I gave my disability much thought. Also, it was not until then that I had a teacher who did not excuse me from anything. What was even more confusing to me was that this was a class that required speaking all the time: French. This person sparked a new attitude I hold toward my disability, making her, without a doubt, the most influential person in my life.

I am not sure if Madame was asked to or not, but she never gave me special treatment for my disability. She held me to the same standard of speaking the other students in the class had. I don’t know if she was ever asked to excuse me from speaking, but it has led me to the notion that while exceptions are good, equality is better.

Speaking French has proved to be exciting for me. The fact that I do not stutter is a great factor in my love for the language. I strive to be on the same speaking level as my peers and show an example of improvement and overcoming. French has also helped with my speech. My communication continues to improve thanks to newly set goals and ambitions. This mindset would not have happened if Madame had not held me at the standard of the rest of the class.

This relationship has helped me focus on my dream of being a teacher. Maybe one day, I can be an influence in a young person’s life as Madame has been in mine. I have come to regard my stuttering not as a weakness, but as a challenge. A disability only impairs me as much as I let it. Out of all the lessons a teacher has taught me, that is the most important.

-From the Fall 2010 Newsletter

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.

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.”

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.

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.