I applaud the British Stammering Association for trying to remove the videos on YouTube.com of people stammering that are just put there for the purposes of ridicule and mockery (Speech defects, Legal Q&A, Personnel Today, 16 October). People who stammer deserve protection from such degradation and abuse.
Like most people who stammer, I faced ridicule and rejection during my school days. It is disheartening to see that not much has changed in the past 30 years. When I speak to the parents of children who stutter, I recommend the resources of the Stuttering Foundation because it offers several books and DVDs on how kids should handle teasing and verbal abuse. Also, its website (www.stutteringhelp.org) has a list of famous people who stutter, which shows you can overcome a stutter and be successful. Some famous people are on the list, including Bruce Willis, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, King George VI, Tiger Woods and Julia Roberts.
But I wish we could live in a world in which the same protection from discrimination and abuse that is given to people with other disabilities is given to people who stutter.
Enrique Horta
New York
US
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