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When Biden was a child, he was ridiculed by his classmates for stuttering. Today, however, he is elected President of the United States. For those facing a similar problem, the new president is a role model.
The 13-year-old who stole the show
A 13-year-old boy stole the show at the Democratic convention last August when he told delegates that “without Joe Biden I wouldn’t be here today to talk to you.”
Bryden Harrington stutters. However, he learned not to give up. “Joe Biden told me that something we have in common is that we stutter,” says the American teenager confidently, adding that the then candidate showed him how to underline specific words in the texts of his speeches to facilitate the speech of the audience.
Approximately three months later, the politician, who openly addresses his problem, is elected president of the United States.
The New York-based National Stuttering Association speaks of “a special time for all people with this problem.”
The Association views Biden as “a role model and source of inspiration for those who stutter and shows that stuttering cannot be an obstacle for those determined to succeed.”
“I hope that as many people as possible are inspired by Joe Biden and take life into their own hands,” said Professor Martin Zommer, director of the German Federal Stuttering Association (BVSS). Neurophysiology Clinic in Göttingen, who stutters as a child.
Did exercises to speak freely
They prefer silence to ridicule
For several years, the newly elected president of the United States tried to hide the problem. “I was afraid that people would think something was wrong if they knew I was stuttering,” she said.
In recent decades, however, the 78-year-old politician has spoken openly about stuttering. In a recent interview with the American magazine The Atlantic, he said that at school he was laughed at by saying “GG-Hello sssJJ-Jo-BB-Biden.”
The politician says he felt anger and humiliation. On the other hand, he was forced to confront his problem by doing speech exercises to be able to speak freely in the classroom.
The director of the German BVSS Association believes that “the flow of speech is something that is learned” and that “Biden has practiced for many decades and now he is doing it in an exemplary way.”
The professor adds that, unfortunately, many stutterers choose a profession in the hope of not having to speak in front of people, but “this is the wrong way to deal with the problem.”
Celebrities with stuttering
Stuttering is a speech disorder. The causal factors are genetic, but also hereditary when there is a family history.
It is more common in men than women. An estimated 1% of adults worldwide stutter. In the United States it is about 3,000,000 and in Germany 800,000.
The BVSS director gives some celebrity examples: British King George STI, whose story was made into a 2010 film titled “The King’s Speech”, won an Oscar, actress Marilyn Monroe and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“Joe Biden, however, is the defining example for us today,” stresses the German scientist.
With greater understanding
Monroe stuttered, but became a star
Martin Sommer suspects that many with a stuttering problem are closing in on themselves and giving up on achieving their goals.
And there, the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States can help many with similar problems. “Maybe to see an American president stutter from time to time, make him react more decisively to ridicule, give less importance to bad experiences and focus on the positives in their lives.”
The German professor hopes that the election of Joe Biden will raise awareness in society at large, so that other human beings will be treated with greater understanding.
At the same time, Martin Zomer makes it clear that stuttering is only one aspect of Joe Biden’s personality:
And as Joe Biden himself said in The Atlantic magazine, “stuttering shouldn’t define who you are.”
Source: Deutche Welle
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