International Stuttering Community Honors Extraordinary Film

The King's Speech Lauded

NEW YORK, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Stuttering Foundation and The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children honored the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech at a gala event in New York City today.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110418/DC85475 )

The King's Speech, which will be released on DVD tomorrow, is enthusiastically supported by the stuttering community for the positive attention it has brought to stuttering.

The Stuttering Foundation's captivating public service announcement plays a starring role on every copy of the DVD.

"The King's Speech has raised awareness of stuttering beyond any level we could ever have imagined. The actors' incredibly accurate portrayal of the anguish faced by people who stutter has been instrumental in opening up honest dialogue about stuttering and its treatment," said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. She also thanked the film's director and screenwriter "for giving us a hero and a movie we can look to for inspiration, much as my father looked to King George VI more than six decades ago."

"We hope a copy of The King's Speech DVD will end up in the home of every person who stutters and in schools and universities around the world," added Fraser. "It is a story worth seeing over and over again for years to come."

About the Foundation

Malcolm Fraser felt the same dread of speaking in public that King George VI experienced in the 1940s. Inspired by the plight of "Bertie", Fraser, a successful businessman and stutterer, went on to establish and endow the 64-year-old nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Stuttering Foundation provides a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and free online resources on its Website, www.StutteringHelp.org, including services, referrals and support to people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering. Please visit us at www.StutteringHelp.org.

About The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children

The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children was opened in 1993 by the actor and writer, Michael Palin, to provide practical help for children and young people who stammer and their families. The Centre is currently staffed by a team of eleven specialist speech and language therapists and provides an expert assessment and therapy service for children and young adults from all parts of the UK. The Centre also conducts a full teaching programme for speech and language therapists in its assessment and treatment methods, in the use of cognitive and brief therapy in the treatment of stammering, and in research and its application to clinical practice. The Centre has a research programme to investigate the causes and effective treatment of stammering.

The Stuttering Foundation has supported the work of the Michael Palin Centre since 2006 through the charity, the Association for Research into Stammering in Childhood.

SOURCE The Stuttering Foundation