Emily Blunt Shines Light On Stuttering, Advocates For Understanding And Support
Emily Blunt recently spoke about her lifelong battle with stuttering at the Variety’s Power of Women event in Los Angeles. Despite her success in the entertainment industry, the renowned actress still faces challenges with certain words getting stuck, a testament to the enduring impact of stuttering.
Accepting the Alumni Award for her work with the American Institute for Stuttering, which she has supported for 17 years, she emphasized the importance of shedding light on this often misunderstood speech disorder.
“I’m so grateful to accept this tonight,” she began, adding, “To be here with these amazing women with their t— out. Get your t— out. Amazing! Just to shed just a bit more light on stuttering!”
Stuttering, affecting about 3 million Americans, is a speech disorder characterized by frequent and significant disruptions in speech fluency. People who stutter often know what they want to say but struggle to express it. While the exact causes of stuttering are still being studied, it may result from speech motor control abnormalities, genetics, and emotional distress.
At the event, Emily passionately conveyed that stuttering should not be misinterpreted as a psychological issue or nervous disposition; it’s a neurological and biological condition, often hereditary, and beyond an individual’s control.
The impact of stuttering goes beyond speech difficulties; it can erode one’s self-worth and limit opportunities, Emily revealed, as she shared her personal experiences, including challenges in high-pressure situations where she might need to persuade or convince, and the strategy of “word switching” that many stutterers employ to substitute difficult words.
However, as she emphasized, certain words, like one’s name, defy substitution, making social interactions challenging. “Like, your name is just the depths of hell. If you want to see a stutterer break out into a cold sweat, it’ll just be to ask them what their name is because you can’t swap it out. There is no substitution,” she stated.
The consequences of stuttering can be far-reaching and emotionally traumatic, according to Emily, who added, “It can limit you from getting a job no matter how qualified you are because you could be deemed unconvincing or off-putting or unintelligent. It can limit children from finding meaningful relationships, being bullied and cast out. It can limit you from finding love. And so the list of limitations of not being able to speak puts on you are far-reaching and they’re traumatizing.”
The The Pain Hustlers star went on to underscore the importance of human connection and communication, highlighting how voices, words, and stories matter profoundly. This sentiment drove her to collaborate with the American Institute for Stuttering, which has made a significant impact by empowering stutterers to embrace their condition and discover that it’s just a part of who they are, not their entire identity.
