Stuttering is Rocket Science

    MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Stuttering continues
 to puzzle scientists as they work to find a cause and a cure for this
 distressing speech problem. A new movie, "Rocket Science," shines a
 spotlight on the disability that affects three million Americans.
 
     The movie, about a high school boy who stutters who is encouraged to
 join the debate team by a female classmate, was written, directed and
 produced by Jeffrey Blitz, who has struggled with stuttering since
 childhood.
 
     Says Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, "It is
 particularly exciting to know that Jeffrey Blitz stutters himself and thus
 has a real feel for what the person who stutters encounters every day!"
 
     Blitz has been added to the Foundation's list of famous people who
 stutter at www.stutteringhelp.org, where he joins a list of celebrated
 actors such as James Earl Jones and Bruce Willis.
 
     In an interview with the New York Sun's James Snyder, Blitz related
 that the challenges he faced because of his stuttering molded his interests
 as a filmmaker. He added, "Now I'm a real word lover. I love the power of
 specific words."
 
     Turning what might have been considered a disability into a strength,
 Blitz said, "As a stuttering kid, you learn tons of words because you
 substitute words as you speak, trading out words you can say with words you
 get stuck on."
 
     In this way, he added, "You develop a real admiration for the power of
 words that fluent kids might not come to."
 
     Stuttering is a speech disorder that affects 1% of the worldwide adult
 population, while some 5% of the child population struggles with stuttering
 at some point in their development. The nonprofit Stuttering Foundation at
 www.stutteringhelp.org, provides numerous resources for adults, children,
 parents and teachers.
 
 
 
 

SOURCE Stuttering Foundation