The King’s Speech Again

I first published this post in 2011 entitled The King’s Speech. Having attended the National Stuttering Convention this year in Baltimore I decided to republish. What a great organization and how much support and help it has brought to the community of those who stutter and their families.

I finally saw the movie The King’s Speech. I’ve been wanting to see it for a while now. Not because I heard it was a good movie. I did. And not because I enjoy history. I do. No, I wanted to see it because I have a daughter with a sever “stammer”, and my dad stuttered most of his life as well.

I watched the movie, not from a sheer entertainment point of view, but from what I could glean, looking for any avenue of exploration that I could venture down in order to help my daughter overcome this malady that has plagued her for the last decade. I found it to be intriguing, although, admittedly nothing new was learned, but perhaps a reminder of things forgotten.

My daughter attended speech therapy twice a week for nine years. We also visited a psychologist for a small chunk of time, in hopes of finding some sort of relaxation technique that would enable her to become more fluent. I have no regrets about doing either of those things. I do, however, see the difference in what Lionel did in the movie as I compare it to the therapists we worked with. It seemed much more effective and personal than what we found and to me that seems not quite right. Shouldn’t we know more; have more help for those who speak with a stutter in the 21st century?

I do have hope for my daughter, believing that she will continue to find aid to assist her when she grapples with pauses and times of being stuck on a sound. I wish, however, that time wasn’t one of those, because I have seen firsthand that maturing in age and growing in confidence in yourself as a person is one of the main contributing factors in overcoming stuttering. I want for that to come earlier in my daughter’s life, rather than later.

I am grateful that my daughter has a greater awareness and a growing circle of support as she continues building relationships with people she is meeting through the National Stuttering Association. I am thankful too for a better understanding for myself and others, as we all become more adept in letting the person with a stutter take the time they need to say what they want to say. I think the movie The King’s Speech assisted in doing just that.