THE KING’S SPEECH: Stutterer praises film’s accuracy, message

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THE KING’S SPEECH: Stutterer praises film’s accuracy, message

By Luke Hendry

Posted 2 hours ago

Ron Day likes The King's Speech, but he's even happier with his own.

The Belleville senior is a recovered stutterer, just like the real-life

character of the acclaimed movie.

For most of his life, Day found it very difficult to speak until seeking speech

therapy early in his retirement.

And now that he's seen the movie he can't stop talking about it.

It's the true story of England's King VI, played by Colin Firth. The king

overcame his stutter with help from speech therapist Lionel Logue, portrayed by

Geoffrey Rush.

" It was an honest treatment of what a stutterer goes through — the anxiety and

fears, " Day said.

There's a reason: screenwriter Seidler also battled the condition.

" That's the only way you could have got it so perfect … to live it, " said Day.

Stuttering or stammering is a speech disorder. It may cause a person to repeat

parts of words (as in " w-w-words " ), get stuck on certain words or stretch out

the sounds.

Stuttering affects 337,000 Canadians and about one per cent of all people,

according to the Canadian Stuttering Association. It affects boys more than

girls.

Though about five per cent of children stutter, most grow out of it.

" Stuttering is one of the few impediments that is still funny, " Day said,

comparing it to obesity.

And as Day described, the condition is bad enough without the jokes.

" It's hard to believe that 20 years ago I couldn't talk on the telephone, " Day

said.

Day grew up in Belleville at a time when speech therapy wasn't nearly as

available as it is today.

As a family, he said, " We didn't talk about it. "

Though Day didn't attend Belleville's Albert College, his older brother

recommended he take drama and elocution (pronunciation) classes there.

He found he didn't stutter when he did accents — because he was in character,

pretending to be someone else.

But the stuttering continued. In his early 20s, Day quit his job because of it.

The company suggested he instead take time off to seek help.

Day tried hypnotherapy and other methods without success.

It wasn't until his retirement 22 years ago from the telecommunications sector

that Day began looking for a better solution.

" When I retired they gave me a telephone answering machine. I couldn't put a

message on it. "

He learned of the precision fluency shaping program at the Ottawa Hospital

Rehabilitation Centre.

" I phoned the office and I stuttered like hell. "

The receptionist transferred him to Marie Poulos — a Belleville native and his

new, internationally-renowned speech therapist.

Day lived in Ottawa for a month, learning to slow his speech and control the

stutter.

" I couldn't believe what was happening to me, " he recalled.

" For the first time in my life speaking became a pleasure instead of an effort.

Like they said in the show, I did have something to say. "

Jaan Pill, co-founder of the Canadian Stuttering Association, said his group is

" delighted " with the film. He, too, stuttered for most of his life.

" In the past a stutter has not been talked about in movies, or has been the butt

of jokes, but in this movie we have a person who is highly regarded and who

happens to have a disability.

" It's important for parents to know there is help available, " said Pill. " Find a

speech pathologist who specializes in stuttering to assess your child. That is

the most effective. "

He said someone talking with stutterers shouldn't rush them or try to fill in

words for them.

Day doesn't rush himself, either.

" Nobody cures it. You learn to control it, " Day said. " I can have some very bad

days. "

He's seen The King's Speech twice and said he may see it a third time. He also

recommends Unspeakable, a 2006 National Film Board documentary.

" When you're a serious stutterer every day is a chore. Now I don't panic. I

smile … and self-correct.

" The world doesn't come to an end because you stutter anyway. "

With files from QMI Agency