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From: Anita
Date: 22 Oct 2006
Time: 11:24:40 -0500
Remote Name: 81.228.218.44
Hi Jeff. Congrats with your film awards! Will you be able to show it at the World Congress in Croatia in May next year? I have not seen it, but I would love to! We need more films about stuttering, where we're not projected as being dangerous, stupid or funny. A film such as Rain Man, with a famous artist would help to normalize stuttering and give it a higher "status". So thanks for making this film! It's a good thing it was shown in disability festivals, because although we (in many countries) are being legally accepted under the "disability umbrella", within the disability sector we're stil the outlaws. "You can walk, hear and see, so what are you doing here?" We showed "To Speak" by Eric Lamens at a European Disability meeting and we were asked to show it again "as not all were there to see this great movie". It opened many people's eyes and right now we have a young girl being on the board of the Youth division of the European Disability Sector! You're right that the disability label has a lot to do with the severity of our stuttering. Stuttering is one of few disabilities that not only affects other people, but their reactions to our stuttering highly affects the severity of the stutter! I had a project once visiting schools to talk about my stuttering and it helped me to break down the walls inside me, by bringing back memories I've been hiding for so long. I cried rivers, stuttered like never before, but finally I could face my ghosts and move on. And today I have the life I never thought I would have, with my stutter being in my shade instead of the other way around. You go and Spit it out,Jeff!!!