by Josh Teitcher, Long Island, N.Y.
Hi, my name is Joshua Teitcher and I am ten and a half years old. In my science class we were learning about Isaac Newton and his Three Laws of Motion. I had read “Notes to Listeners: What to Do and What to Know When Speaking with a Person Who Stutters,” and I remembered that it had put Isaac Newton on the list of famous people who stuttered.
The next day, I brought the pamphlet to school. I showed it to my teacher, and she asked me to read it out loud to the class, which I did.
The class didn’t believe that Bruce Willis stuttered, and I explained that it is sometimes easier for people who stutter to read from a script, and that they can shoot a scene over if they want to. When I told my family this story, they were very proud of me!
A Note from Josh’s Speech Therapist: Heather Grossman
I was extremely proud of Josh, too! His honesty and willingness to educate others is so special. I’d like to share one more story about him that also shows how much there is to learn about him.
Josh was sometimes teased about his stuttering and called insulting names by one of his classmates. The boy who did this was often teased by another boy who called him “Jellyroll” since he was overweight. One day, Josh heard this insult being repeated and he said, “Stop it, that isn’t nice.” Of course, the boy was very surprised that Josh had come to his defense when he had been the one to tease him. Josh simply stated, “Well, now you know how I feel.”