Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been awarded the 2009 Annie Award by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
ASHA annually presents the award to an individual who exemplifies the invincible spirit of Annie Glenn, wife of former Senator John Glenn, a tireless advocate for those with communication disorders.
"Vice President Biden spoke candidly about his stuttering when he was young and how he worked to overcome it," according to ASHA President Sue Hale. President Hale presented the award to Vice President Biden in his office at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC with Mrs. Glenn, Senator Glenn, ASHA President-Elect Tommy Robinson, and ASHA Executive Director Arlene Pietranton. President Hale says, "Biden credits his fluency difficulties with shaping his character as well as his commitment to supporting individuals who face challenges to achieving their full potential."
Growing up, Vice President Biden dealt with the challenge of dysfluency, commonly known as stuttering. In his book, Promises To Keep, he writes about being called "Joe Impedimenta" by his high school classmates. They also referred to him as "Dash" because he "talked like Morse code."
Biden also credits his mother and father for helping him overcome the pain of his childhood communication problems. Today, the Vice President talks about how dealing with his stuttering helped to strengthen him and make him a better person.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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