Congratulations President Joe Biden: POTUS and PWS

Political opinions aside, for the 3 million people in the United States who stutter, having a president who stutters reinforces that there is nothing they can’t achieve. For the rest of us, Joe Biden’s presidency can be an encouraging step toward us being more aware of the power of words.

As fluent speakers, the large majority of us can, and often do, take for granted our ability to communicate verbally. Unfortunately, this ease often makes us careless with our words. Rather than formulating well-thought out responses and ideas, too often we spew words thoughtlessly, unconcerned with the consequences. The result is not just less effective communication but, is unfortunately much more damaging than that. We see words both intentionally and unintentionally bringing each other harm.

I have always believed that people who stutter teach the rest of us to listen. I now see the potential for a positive change in how we engage with those around us. As human beings, we thrive on connection and words are the tools for these connections. Regardless of political beliefs, we can unite as people by better respecting the importance of our words- and using them with care. Having a leader who understands that words are not to be taken for granted is a step in the right direction.

Check out President Joe Biden's speech at our 2016 gala below, back when he was Vice President!

Still interested in content related to our new president? Check out Julia Marzovilla's article in Instyle Magazine, Eric Dinallo's article in The Atlantic, Joe Biden's message that "stuttering does not define a person" from our 2008 gala, his video address from our 2014 gala, and most recently, his live chat with Emily Blunt and John Hendrickson at our 2020 virtual gala.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.