for today’s Washington Post, posted yesterday afternoon, and titled I saw myself in Brayden Harrington’s story of stuttering. He showed us the power of sharing it openly.
For the record, Dr. Wen has been a frequent presence on cable tv commenting on aspects of the pandemic. Leana Wen has had a long and distinguished career. She has previously served briefly as president of Planned Parenthood and before that as Health Commissioner of Baltimore City (there is a separate Baltimore County in Maryland). She is currently a visiting professor at the Medical School of George Washington University, where she had taught some years ago. She has also served as a professor at Harvard Medical School while also a an emergency room physician at Brigham and Womens and at Massachusetts General Hospitals. She previously was President of the American Medical Student Association and of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine/Resident and Student Association. And as we learn in her op ed — and what we would never know from her appearances on cable — is that she herself a stutterer!
She begins by telling us that her favorite part of last week’s convention was the appearance of Brayden Harrington, because
For me, it was deeply personal. I cried as I watched Brayden tell his story. Growing up as a person who stutters (PWS), I never imagined that I’d ever see someone stuttering openly and comfortably in front of millions of people.
She goes on to tell us that about 3 million Americans are stutterers, many into adulthood, and describes several different manifestations of the condition, then describes herself as follows:
Many PWS, like me, are covert stutterers. That means we are able to hide our disfluency enough that we can trick others into thinking that we don’t stutter. As a child, I knew which words would trip me up, so I found ways around them. Words beginning with “P’s” were a problem, so I wouldn’t ask for a pencil, but something to write with. “L’s” were also a problem — which was hard, since my name begins with the letter. I’d find ways to avoid introducing myself. It was better to be known as the quiet kid than the one who couldn’t get her words out.
Dr. Wen describes the fears a stutterer faces of being disfluent in front of others, that it might interfere with her dream of becoming a doctor. She explains the treatment she got that enabled her to largely overcome her stutter. She also tells us that she is a participant in a list serv of stutterers that came alive after young Brayden appeared at the convention, courageously showing us his stutter as he praised the support Joe Biden had given him. (And of course the Biden campaign has since released the video from several years earlier where the former VP first met Brayden). She shares, with permission, some of the responses from the list serv, which included these remarks:
“… for showing everyone out there that stuttering does not preclude you from sharing your voice and being heard…. That what you say can matter, even if it’s disfluent.”
and that he was willing to stutter openly:
“… he chose to use the version where he had noticeable blocks that couldn’t just be dismissed as something other than a moment of stuttering. He stuttered publicly, openly and with a smile on his face the entire time.”
Dr. Wen tells us how this was a positive example that she and others wish they had had when they were children. As one person, himself a PWS (a person who stutters) who is now a speech pathologist, shared
“To see a kid share the bravery, courage and vulnerability that stuttering often forces us into, and show it so well — it’s hard to put into words what that felt like and means for so many of us.”
One thing anyone who either knows Joe Biden, who has at least encountered him (as I have a few times), or has paid attention to his career (as I definitely have), understands, he (Biden) is incredibly empathetic to anyone and everyone: it us one of what many of us view as his strengths as a leader, and does NOTHING to undercut his strength and forcefulness as a leader.
Let me close as does Leana Wen, with the final paragraph of this strong op ed:
Watching Brayden is a reminder of how our greatest source of shame can also be our greatest source of strength. Learning about his interaction with Biden, who has spoken openly about his own struggle with stuttering, shows what happens when our vulnerability is met with compassion and kindness. Regardless of our politics, I think we can all be inspired to show others that they belong, that they are worthy and that every voice matters.
Indeed.
