Nick FreearAccessibility, internationalization, web dev, Moodle and other stuff

I've just taken the afternoon off with my wife to see The King's Speech. It's a movie that I highly recommend. As a stammerer myself, I found that I very much lived the film.

Be warned, spoilers follow!

The film opens with Prince Albert (Colin Firth), second in line to the throne, preparing to give a speech to close the 1924 Empire Exhibition. He must speak in front of the large crowd at Wembley, and his address is transmitted live around the world on the new wireless radio. He struggles to start the speech, and continues to stammer (with a lot of long and silent "blocks"). Colin Firth conveys this upsetting, traumatic and frustrating experience well, so that I think many in the cinema audience would have shared the discomfort of the crowds watching in the film.

The movie, The King's Speech is out this Friday 7 January in the UK.

Video trailer on YouTube

It tells the story of Prince Albert's attempts to come to terms with his stammer and the intervention of Lionel Logue as Albert's speech therapist. Albert becomes King George VI on the abdication of his brother Edward. With the outbreak of the Second World War the King must give many important speeches on the radio.

From all that I've heard, I would encourage you to go and see the film. It portrays stammering (stuttering) in a positive light and is entertaining and I hope thought-provoking.

Also, tell your friends about it, and share some love with the British Stammering Association on Facebook.

Happy New Year!

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Abstract: Stammering or stuttering is a speech disability that receives little exposure in the media. It affects about one in every hundred children and adults at some point in their lives, and it can have an impact on education, employment, social integration, and the person's mental well-being and self-esteem. The one in a hundred figure equates to 40 to 50 employees of The Open University and possibly 1500-2000 students.

A week ago today I stood up and talked about my personal experiences as a person who stammers, and the valuable work of The British Stammering Association. The occasion was the weekly Monday evening meal of the Rotary Club of Leighton-Linslade, to which I had been invited as guest speaker. The Club made me very welcome, and proved to be a good audience for my talk, laughing in the right places and asking some pertinent questions ("What's the difference between a stammer and a stutter?" Answer: none, woops I meant to mention that in the talk!)

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The British Stammering Association's annual conference, "Making Connections", takes place next month in west London.