Today, I was surprised to learn that Joe Biden has always had to cope with a stutter. In a new article in the Atlantic by John Hendricks, who also deals with stuttering, talks to Biden about their common struggle. A link to the article with be posted at the bottom of the page.
I wanted to find out more about stuttering, I found the website: Stuttering Foundation. There I found earlier interviews and links to articles talking to Biden about his stuttering. Below is an article, in part on the Foundation site. Also, there is a link provided for an aricle in today's The Atlantic. The author also copes with stuttering. "What Joe Biden Can't Bring Himself to Say"
As a current presidential candidate and former Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden is required to speak in public at high-profile events more often than most. It's no secret that Vice President Biden has struggled with a stutter throughout his life, but it makes it all the more impressive and inspiring that he has risen to the second-highest office you can possibly hold in the United States.
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings. In 1953, the Biden family moved from Pennsylvania to Claymont, Delaware. He went on to graduate from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School. At age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate.
Vice President Biden served as a Senator from Delaware for 36 years. He was the Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years, and the Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1997 until his time in the Senate came to an end. He served as the 47th Vice President of the United States and on April 25, 2019 he announced his bid to become the 45 th President in the 2020 election.
Before his rise in politics, though, Biden dealt with stuttering throughout his childhood and into his twenties. According to a February 2015 article from CNN, the issue of stuttering came up recently during a stop at a coffee shop in Des Moines, when Biden spoke with a mother about her daughter's experience in Head Start, the government program to provide early education and nutrition services for low-income Americans.
"She has a speech problem... she likes to leave off the beginning part of words...Through Head Start she's been able to learn how to talk to us, how to communicate, how to be civil," the mother said, noting that her daughter received speech therapy at Drake. At that point, Biden acknowledged his own childhood struggle with stuttering, as he has done publicly many times.
Vice President Biden spoke about how difficult it was to overcome his stutter in a 2010 appearance on ABC's The View. In 2011, he wrote an essay for People Magazine on his experience: "I never had professional therapy, but a couple of nuns taught me to put a cadence to my speaking, and that's why I spent so much time reading poetry – Emerson and Yeats," Biden wrote. "But even in my small, boys' prep school, I got nailed in Latin class with the nickname Joe Impedimenta. You get so desperate, you're so embarrassed."
Continue Reading at the link below.
*Here is part of a list found at that link of celebrities:
Actors, singers & entertainers
Marc Anthony — Pop singer who is a two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy winner. He has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide.
Emily Blunt — This Golden Globe Award-winning actress is probably best known for her work in My Summer of Love and The Devil Wears Prada. She is featured on the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure and poster.
Leon Botstein — He serves as the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. He is also president of Bard College.
Wayne Brady — He is an Emmy-winning improv comic, singer, and host of Let's Make a Deal.
Garret Dillahunt — He starred in the movie "The Last House on the Left" and has appeared in numerous TV shows such as "The X Files," "NYPD Blue," and "ER." Robert Donat — An actor best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor.
Sheila Fraser— She starred in the 1938 TV show General John Regan. Noel Gallagher — A popular singer who, at one time, was the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-vocalist for the English rock band Oasis.
Francois Goudreault — Lead vocalist and songwriter for Hello Kelly, a feisty alt-rock band from Orangeville, ON.
Jason Gray — Christian singer who was received the Most Performed Song Award for "Good to Be Alive" during the 2013 Annual Christian Music Awards.
Ray Griff — This Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer had his first hit, "Patches," in 1970. Since that time, he has enjoyed much success as a singer and songwriter.
Tim Gunn — Actor, design consultant, and host of the popular fashion reality TV show Project Runway.
Steve Harvey — Comedian, television host, producer, radio personality, actor, and author. J
ohn Lee Hooker — An influential American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His trademark genre was a half-spoken style of blues.
Samuel L. Jackson — An award-winning actor known for his movies Goodfellas, Jungle Fever, Patriot Games, Jurassic Park, and Pulp Fiction.
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