Movies are awesome for awareness- here's one coming out!!

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Movie may help increase awareness

Anne McIlroy

From Monday's Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 11:24PM EST

Researchers who study stuttering say they are hopeful a new movie will raise

awareness about the disorder.

The King's Speech, a film to be released in Canada next month, is based on the

true story of how King VI, father of the Queen, overcame a debilitating

stammer with the help of an unorthodox speech therapist.

Colin Firth plays King VI and Geoffrey Rush plays Lionel Logue, who used

breathing exercises and a form of Freudian therapy to help his royal client. The

film was screened at the Toronto film festival in September.

" In the film, he got a lot of benefit from his speech therapist. But I think he

never considered himself cured. He was able to manage his stuttering much

better, " said University of Oxford scientist Kate Watkins.

Breathing exercises are still used to help people overcome stuttering, she

added, but the idea that stuttering stems from traumatic events in childhood

isn't credible.

Michigan State University scientist Soo-Eun Chang said Mr. Firth's performance

is authentic.

" He didn't overdo the stuttering. "

Most movies portray people who stutter as weird or anxious, or not intelligent,

she said.

" This is very exciting. It can be a debilitating disorder. Children are teased

awfully at school. It can be really bad. But compared to dyslexia or autism, not

a lot of interest has been given to stuttering.

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