Jason Heffler, the author of a new children’s book Tongue Tied, is encouraging celebrities to speak out about their stutters because kids who struggle with the speech impediment still feel isolated.
Only about 1 percent of the world’s population stutters, according to the National Stuttering Association, and there isn’t a definitive reason for what causes it or a firm solution on fixing it. Studies find kids who stutter struggle with self-esteem and report high levels of bullying.
Heffler said he got bullied “ruthlessly” as a child and his stutter isn’t as bad as other people’s.
“There are kids who can’t get a word out and every syllable is a tightrope,” he told Newsweek. “And the fear of judgment just engulfs them. Everyone around them is just waiting for the words to come out and the world around them kind of freezes…And [kids] are vicious.”
Heffler’s book, Tongue Tied, follows Cadence, a chameleon who stumbles over her own tongue so she camouflages herself out of fear she won’t fit in. But, through a series of encounters with a compassionate cricket friend and a mean frog bully, Cadence learns to embrace what makes her different.
While the book is written to help children with stutters learn to not let it hold them back, he said it’s also aimed at teaching compassion for kids who meet someone with a stutter. He said if a child—or an adult, even—is talking with someone who stutters, they should “just be patient” while the person communicates what they want to say.
Heffler is encouraging kids to open up to people about their stutter because even though it’s hard, they’ll learn they’re not alone and more people struggle with the speech impediment than they realize.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/John Nacion/Getty Images/Jason Heffler
A 2008 profile in W Magazine about actor Emily Blunt said she struggled so much with a stutter as a child that sometimes she could “barely hold a conversation.” She said she was smart and had a lot to say but “I just couldn’t say it. It would haunt me.” Blunt has been a vocal advocate of helping kids who stutter and invited musician Ed Sheeran to an American Institute for Stuttering gala in 2015. Sheeran opened up at the gala about struggling with the speech impediment.
“From a stuttering point of view, don’t treat it as an issue—work through it and get the treatment that you want to get, but don’t ever treat it as an issue, don’t see it as a plight on your life, and carry on pushing forward. And I did all right—I did all right is all. Emily did all right,” Sheeran said.
President Joe Biden also struggles with a stutter and said that as a kid, he was “desperate” because his speech impediment was embarrassing. He would read poetry for hours to try to improve his public speaking and, in an interview with CNN, encouraged children to not let their speech define them.
Jason Heffler
Heffler praised celebrities for speaking up about their stutter because, as a kid, it was hard for him to embrace that part of himself. It “came with so much shame for so long,” and it’s “crucial” that people who have “made it” in their fields show young children that a stutter doesn’t dictate how your life will turn out.
With back-to-school season upon us, youngsters across the country will be returning to classrooms, some of which will be familiar scenes while some kids will be starting new schools. For those with stutters, the thought of returning to the social setting can be daunting, especially if it’s with new kids and new teachers.
Heffler advised children to always look for help. As someone who had a great support system with siblings who defended him and parents who supported him, Heffler said he feels for kids who aren’t as lucky. Those who don’t have that support from their family should look for it in nonprofits and foundations that have tons of resources that can help.
“I wish I spoke up more [as a kid],” Heffler said.