Opinion

I Stutter. This Is What You’re Not Hearing.

Opinion

Supported by

Continue reading the main story

I Stutter. This Is What You’re Not Hearing.

Aug. 23, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET
  • Send any friend a story

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

    Give this article
  • 6

  • Read in app

Video by James Robinson

Mr. Robinson is a filmmaker.

“Adapt-Ability” is an Opinion Video series inviting you to confront discomfort with disability.

John Hendrickson stutters. He has stuttered nearly his entire life.

And in the Opinion video above, Mr. Hendrickson, working with the filmmaker James Robinson, explores the obstacles and emotional burden of his condition and explains the coping strategies and workarounds he has devised to make it through the day in a world that demands that we speak up and speak clearly.

The film suggests that the problem may lie not with people who stutter but with a society that is largely unprepared or disinclined to accommodate them.

This is the second in a three-part Opinion Video series by Mr. Robinson that profiles people with disabilities. The first, about a woman with retinitis pigmentosa, was published last week. The third, featuring a man who has prosopagnosia — or face blindness — will be published next week. Mr. Robinson also made “Whale Eyes,” an Emmy Award-nominated film we published last year that explores his experiences living with an array of disabling eye conditions.

James Robinson (@ByJamesRobinson) is a filmmaker.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: [email protected].

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Back to top button