Suffering in Silence

Speech impediments affect millions of people worldwide. Over three million people stutter in America alone. Speech impediments can be caused by a variety of things, the two most common reasons are developmental and neurogenic. Often times people who have an impediment to go speech therapy to try and overcome their stutter. People with a speech impediments often have less power in a system because of  the unwillingness of others to listen.

John Stossel, a co-anchor on 20/20, had a major speech impediment. He stuttered. As a child and even early in his broadcasting career John had to face the daily challenges of his speech impediment. In an interview with Stossel he says, “Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself…”  Many with a stutter have a fear of being rejected because of their stammer, rather than their actual impediment. This silences countless stutters. This silence gives them less power in a system compared to someone free of a speech impediment. Whether the system be where that person works, learns, or lives. These people can often be eclipsed by the shadow of their stutter. Stuttering can affect anybody at any age, though it commonly begins in childhood, it can also happen after a serious brain injury like a stroke. Stossel also talked briefly on what is was like growing up with a stutter, “I remember terror in the classroom...” This is a common fear, the terror that his listeners, or peers, would not listen to what he has to say but instead make fun of him for how he said it.

This is a problem that people who stutter, face daily. To try and help cope with their impediment, many go to speech therapy in hopes to help their stutter. With dedication and practice many people are able to overcome their impediment. People like Marilyn Monroe, James Earl Jones, and even Emily Blunt and King George IV, have all stuttered. The Stuttering Foundation did a small biography on Marilyn’s impediment, it was said,  “A speech therapist taught her how deliberate breathing prior to speaking could guide her to fluency.” Though in times of stress towards the end of her career the impediment became noticeable, look at how iconic she became. She worked so that her impediment wouldn’t control her, and this gave her the iconic and airy Marilyn voice.Speech therapy will not automatically cure a persons impediment, or turn them into famous actors, but with dedication a stutter could become less noticeable.

Thanks to the movie “Kings Speech” many have gotten a glimpse of what it is like living with a stutter. The film follows the story of King George IV overcoming his impediment while trying to rule a country. Though it is one thing to watch it in a movie and another to live it daily, this movie has shined a light on speech impediments like no other movie has. Wheeler-Bennet, the King’s biographer wrote, “..failures of previous specialists to affect a cure had begun to breed within him the inconsolable despair of the chronic stammerer and the secret dread that the hidden root of the affliction lay in the mind rather than the body.” So many people carry this secret dread of their stammer, even if they aren’t required to make war speeches in front of an empire. The feeling of not being taken seriously is often a bigger obstacle than the stutter itself. This makes us notice how someone without a stutter might look at those who do. In several points in the film mainly when Bertie, the future king, would make a public address did I notice the listener’s reactions. In the beginning of his speech many would look on eager to hear what he had to say. His first few stammers people would being to wince in embarrassment for him, before eventually looking away. In that situation the listener tried to distance themselves from the speaker as much as they possibly could. They did this by looking away, staring off into space, or twiddling their thumbs. Bertie's message was lost due to his stammer and people’s lack of patience.

While researching, trying to find how people react to a stutter I decided to see what google had to say. In a google search phrase, “Are people who stutter” google auto filled in the statement with the following : smarter, stupid, shy nervous, intelligent.  The first subject that was read was the shy nervous option which eventually lead to the National Stuttering Association’s common myths page. The association dismissed many myths such as “People stutter because they are shy and self conscious,” and  “Stuttering is a mental disorder.” The list goes on ranging from poor parenting to a lack of intelligence.  Another source that was found was the publics opinion on stuttering, most of the studies showed that the public thought those who stutter are shy and and often nervous.  It was also said that, “Considerably more children who stutter were bully victims than were children who do not stutter.” I wasn’t surprised by this, it is terribly cruel thing  to do to someone, especially a child. Children often have a short attention span, so not having enough patience and a lack of understanding can lead to bullying. This only makes it harder for someone to stutter have their voice be heard.

Recent media has shined a light on stuttering because of this we now have a better idea of what it is like living with a speech impediment. Many famous people like Marilyn Monroe and King George IV have stuttered, but with serious therapy, time, and dedication they have overcome their impediment and let their voices be heard. Many studies have been done to show that though stuttering is not caused by shyness or nervousness, it can be caused by emotional traumas. People who do stammer are no less intelligent, than someone who doesn’t. People with a speech impediments often have less power in a system because of  the unwillingness of others to listen.

Work Cited

Emily Aten, . N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. <http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/journal/hallen/public.html>.

. N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. <http://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/stuttering-didn’t-silence-his-story-2020’s-john-stossel-inspires-others>.

. N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. <http://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/stuttering-didn’t-silence-his-story-2020’s-john-stossel-inspires-others>.

National Institute of Deafness, A. C. D.. N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. <https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/stutter.asp&xgt;.>

Center for stuttering therapy, . N.p.. Web. 31 Oct 2013. <http://www.coloradostutteringtherapy.com/additional_info/facts.htm>.