Transcript of “My Beautiful Stutter”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. 30 years ago, Taro Alexander was 19 years old and newly arrived in New York City.
On his first visit to Washington Square Park, he says,
I remember looking around at everyone in the park and just kind of watching everybody talk.
It just struck me how easy it seemed for people’s mouths to move.
And I remember being this 19-year-old kid and just wanting that, wanting that ease of speech.
Taro Alexander is one of some 3 million Americans who stutter.
That’s roughly 1% of the population.
He went on to found the Stuttering Association for the Young, which is abbreviated SAY.
And that’s an organization that works to address the physical and social and emotional impact of stuttering.
And one of the things they do is offer this summer camp where kids who stutter can come and connect and find acceptance and build their confidence.
And it’s dedicated to the idea that every single voice should be heard.
And that summer camp is the subject of a marvelous new documentary called My Beautiful Stutter.
And Grant, this movie opens your eyes to just how immensely frustrating it can be to be a person who stutters.
How lonely it is and how utterly exhausting.
Yeah, they tell the story in the movie of the young girl, Sarah, who comes home from school and she’s quiet.
And ordinarily, the parents think of her as a talkative child despite her stutter.
And she finally explains, I have spent the whole day trying to talk.
And the whole day dealing with people who were impatient and frustrated with me, I am just exhausted.
I just need to not talk right now.
And when they go to the SAE camp, these children find out that they aren’t the only ones.
And they have a kinship, a brotherhood and sisterhood with other children and form these tight bonds with people who know their struggle.
Yeah, it’s a very moving and informative film.
And I think it’s one that everybody should watch.
It’s called My Beautiful Stutter.
And you can find the film My Beautiful Stutter at mybeautifulstutter.com.
It’s also available on Apple Plus and Discovery Plus.
We’d love to hear about the film and books that you enjoy that you think that we would enjoy too.
Email words@waywordradio.org.
Or talk to us on Twitter @wayword.
