SPEECH WORK HELPS THOSE WHO STUTTER

He is the voice of Darth Vader in "Star Wars" and King Mufasa in "The Lion King."

But as a child, James Earl Jones had a severe stuttering problem and virtually refused to speak for eight years. He credits a high school teacher with helping him deal with it by making him read a poem to the class every day.

About 3 million people in the United States stutter, according to the Stuttering Foundation of America. While many, like Jones, overcome it, some don't.

Y-Press recently interviewed three people who stutter: Joe Kauffman, 19, of Lafayette; Ian Hougland, 12, Kokomo; and Josh Morgan, 13, West Lafayette.

All three are clients of Bill Murphy, a clinical supervisor in speech language pathology in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences at Purdue University.

Describing stuttering

Joe: Well, for me, to stutter is like when you can't get the words out basically. Or stuttering also could mean, to me, like when you're talking and you get caught up in a word, and you start repeating it over and over.

Ian: It's a blockage. Just like every now and then I won't be able to get a word out.

Josh: I agree with them, it's a blockage, but mine's more of the same sound over and over.

When it started

Joe: When I first started stuttering, I was back in like first grade. Then my stuttering kind of went away during the latter part of grade school. Then it came back in my sixth-grade year, and then it's just been kind of staying with me ever since.

Ian: I was probably in about second grade . . . and it's kind of stuck ever since. Right now it's not really that big of a problem, but every now and then it will come back up and get like really bad.

Josh: I probably started stuttering, I think, before I entered grade school, and it's basically been a problem ever since.

Physical behaviors

Joe: When I stutter, I start to repeat the words that I say. Like if I were talking, I might, might, might do this right here. Physically, my face kind of cringes up, 'cause I'm trying to get the word out. So I try and push it out.

Ian: Just all of a sudden it feels like your face just froze, like from your neck up, and you just can't talk. You almost can't breathe, either.

Josh: I'll get like frustrated if I can't say something, and I'll start like hitting a table or something if it won't come out.

Discrimination

Joe: Growing up, when I was talking to people, I was very thankful that kids didn't make fun of me because I stuttered. They thought at times that I was a little weird 'cause I stuttered, and they'd give me funny looks. But I mean, they never made comments to me.

Ian: When I was growing up, occasionally they would look at me real funny, but not normally. Last year Bill came in and did, what do you call it, like a little seminar on stuttering to my class, so basically now everyone that I know knows it, and I haven't gotten any funny looks lately.

Josh: Well, I just stopped commenting in school. I didn't like have any, any friends. I was like an outcast. . . . Now my friends stand by my side and will stick up for me.

I have always liked to read aloud, and I will always volunteer to read, but I feel my teachers don't want me to read.

Ian: Normally teachers don't really call on me that much.

Self-confidence

Joe: When I stutter, like I do feel less self-confident because I get real nervous and I don't want to stutter.

Ian: When I first started stuttering, I was really worried about it. But over, over the time that I've been at therapy, I've learned to have more self-confidence.

Josh: Since I've been to therapy, it's helped me a lot in self-confidence.

Advice for others

Joe: Just don't lose self-confidence. Just try to get through your stuttering -- it is possible to do it. I also think people who stutter should know that they're not different from anybody else. We're all humans.

Ian: If you give up, it's only gonna get worse. You can try to fight it by going to therapy . . . but by, by trying to fight it, you'll eventually overcome it.

Josh: Just because you stutter, it doesn't mean that you can't try events in school and read out loud and get help so that you can overcome it.

Future concerns

Joe: My stuttering will probably be with me for the rest of my life. It's just a matter of whether I can keep it controlled or not. If I'm in a position of management, of having to lead sometimes, I just don't want to stutter in front of everybody. Being in the ROTC, that's something that I am a little concerned with, but I'm just gonna trust that God's gonna get me through it.

Ian: Probably my biggest concern is, I'm interested in drama and acting and stuff. Normally I don't stutter while I'm on the stage, but there's always a first time for everything.

Josh: Probably my biggest concern would be getting a job that I would like.

REPORTERS: Perri McKinley, 13, Sara Kritsch, 13, Abby Rivin, 13, Kaitlin Stallings, 13.