Moses, Aristotle, Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain, King George VI, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, distinguished historian Peter Brown, TV journalist John Stossel, Senator's wife Annie Glenn, ABC correspondent Byron Pitts, novelist John Updike. For all of these accomplished persons, stuttering was an enormous difficulty. None had a sure-fire remedy. Most had to blunder and stumble through. The persistence and courage they displayed tells us that there might be ways we too can survive and achieve--despite our own difficulties.
Malcolm Fraser knew from personal experience what the person who stutters is up against. His introduction to stuttering corrective procedures first came at the age of fifteen under the direction of Frederick Martin, M.D., who at that time was Superintendent of Speech Correction for the New York City schools. A few years later, he worked with J. Stanley Smith, L.L.D., a stutterer and philanthropist, who, for altruistic reasons, founded the Kingsley Clubs in Philadelphia and New York that were named after the English author, Charles Kingsley, who also stuttered. The Kingsley Clubs were small groups of adult stutterers who met one night a week to try out treatment ideas then in effect. In fact, they were actually practicing group therapy as they talked about their experiences and exchanged ideas. This exchange gave each of the members a better understanding of the problem. The founder often led the discussions at both clubs. In 1928 Malcolm Fraser joined his older brother Carlyle who founded the NAPA-Genuine Parts Company that year in Atlanta, Georgia. He became an important leader in the company and was particularly outstanding in training others for leadership roles. In 1947, with a successful career under way, he founded the Stuttering Foundation of America. In subsequent years, he added generously to the endowment so that at the present time, endowment income covers over fifty percent of the operating budget. In 1984, Malcolm Fraser received the fourth annual National Council on Communicative Disorders' Distinguished Service Award. The NCCD, a council of 32 national organizations, recognized the Foundation's efforts in "adding to stutterers', parents', clinicians', and the public's awareness and ability to deal constructively with stuttering." Book jacket.
In a book that explores the phenomenon of stuttering from its practical and physical aspects to its historical profile to its existential implications, Shell, who has himself struggled with stuttering all his life, plumbs the depths of this murky region between will and flesh, intention and expression, idea and word. Looking into the difficulties encountered by people who stutter--as do fifty million world-wide--Shell shows that stutterers share a kinship with many other speakers, both impeded and fluent. This book takes us back to a time when stuttering was believed to be 'diagnosis-induced, ' then on to the complex mix of physical and psychological causes that were later discovered. Ranging from cartoon characters like Porky Pig to cultural icons like Marilyn Monroe, from Moses to Hamlet, Shell reveals how stuttering in literature plays a role in the formation of tone, narrative progression and character.--From publisher description.
Stephen has always wanted to be a speaker. However, his stuttering makes him feel he cannot achieve that goal. So what does he do? Navigate through Stuttering Stephen's journey as he finds his voice.
A former stutterer, Benson Bobrick here offers his perspective on the condition as well as an interesting history of how physicians have treated it. Stuttering, or stammering (the terms are interchangeable clinically), occurs four times more frequently in males and ranges from mild hesitation in speech to severe disability. Hot irons were applied to stutterers' lips in the Middle Ages, and in the mid-19th century, risky tongue operations were performed in failed attempts to effect a cure. Bobrick discusses famous stutterers Charles Darwin, Henry James, Winston Churchill, and Jimmy Stewart, and he describes the adverse impact of their condition on their lives. In this century, psychological trauma has often been cited as the cause of stuttering, but recent evidence points to a genetic disorder involving a disturbed auditory function. Therapeutic practices differ, but the author credits a voice feedback system with bringing his condition under control.
Brayden Harrington, a thirteen-year-old boy who stutters, gives an incredible speech that electrifies the nation in this timely and extraordinary nonfiction picture book that celebrates the importance of speaking up and using your voice—for everyone deserves to be heard. When Brayden talks, his words get caught in his mouth. He has bumpy speech—and that’s okay! Sometimes, though, he doesn’t feel anyone really understands what it feels like to be a person who stutters. Then Brayden meets Joe Biden, who knows exactly how he feels and inspires him to be more confident. But when Mr. Biden asks Brayden to give a big speech in front of the whole nation, will Brayden be brave enough to speak up and speak out? Brayden Speaks Up is the incredible true story of one extraordinary boy’s perseverance and the importance of celebrating yourself just as you are. For after all, your biggest challenge just might be your greatest gift.
