Reaching Out to Pediatricians from Around the World

By June Campbell, M.A., CCC-SLP, BRSFD

They came from near and far, the young and the old, those unfamiliar with the Stuttering Foundation, and those very knowledgeable about its literature and mission.

Attendees at the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Conference held in Boston, October 2011, represented fourteen countries and thirty-three states.

“My mother is going to love this. I stutter.” commented a nine-year-old boy as he picked up materials while perusing the exhibits on his own.

One physician stopped by to thank the Foundation for its dedication to educating pediatricians. Others stopped by to discuss children and families they treat, their own stuttering, or stuttering in their immediate family. Many pediatric residents were grateful to receive information that has barely been addressed in their training.

This was the sixteenth year I represented the Stuttering Foundation. I was grateful for the consistently warm welcome, positive responses and desires of the physicians to take the time to study the materials we offered. Many asked questions to improve their own understanding of fluency disorders.

Pediatricians came from 33 states and 14 countries.

-From the Winter 2012 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

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.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, is well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones has spoken some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

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.

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.

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.