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Heroes with stuttering

Posted November. 04, 2017 07:21,   

Updated November. 04, 2017 07:29

한국어

“Happy birthday, Mr. President…” Marilyn Monroe sang the most famous birthday song in history with her signature voice as if whispering at President John F. Kennedy’s 45th birth at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 1962. Actually, Monroe’s sexy vocal that shook the heart of countless men was a habit she had developed while getting treatment to fix her stammer during her school years.

Elvis Presley became the “King of Rock 'n' Roll” after he started singing in a bid to fix his stammering. Kylie Minogue, a pop star hailing from Australia, also started singing due to her stammer. Former Korean Maritime Affaires and Fisheries Minister Oh Geo-don, who had been a stutterer, started classical vocal singing to regain confidence and ended up performing on TV. Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt overcame stammer through acting in play to become world famous stars. Samuel L. Jackson, an actor famous for using his signature “M word cursing” to display strong characters in all different movies, once confessed that he fixed his stammer by repeating curses.

Statistics say that about one in 100 people is a stutterer. It has been known that stammer symptoms first emerge among children aged seven to two and seven when they start learning language, but the reason such symptom actually occurs has not been discovered. Experts believe psychological factors including nervousness or physical problems in vocal cords and respiratory organs can be the cause. A study suggests that the brain’s function can be the cause. Diagnostics on cause of stammer can be diverse, but doctors generally agree on how to treat stammer: Build up confidence, and boldly inform people around you of your stuttering symptoms.

Houston Astros center fielder George Springer, who was named World Series MVP this year, has also faithfully followed this principle. He struggled with severe stammering practice during his childhood. He still stutters once in a while, but gives interviews without hesitance when requested. In an All Star game in July, he even had a live interview by putting on a microphone while the game was still in progress. “I hope to help people who are having difficulties due to stammer,” he said in explaining the reason he used the microphone. He also conducts volunteer activities to help children with linguistic developmental disorder. He deserves respect and honor as a hero not only from his team but also among stutterers.