Speech defects: stammering and stuttering

As a PWS (person who stutters/stammers), I found your article Speech defects legal Q & A. 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. PWSs deserve protection from such degradation and abuse. I was not surprised in the least to read of the well-educated 26 year-old PWS who took his own life after failed attempts to get a job.

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 last 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 web site has a list of “Famous People Who Stutter” that inspires young people because seeing such famous names conveys to them that success in life can be achieved despite stuttering and that in many cases the problem can be overcome. Some are the famous people on the list are Bruce Willis, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, King George VI, Tiger Woods, Julia Roberts and many more.

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.

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Enrique Horta

Bronx, NY, USA