Press Release on January 20, 2021
Joe Biden is the first president of the USA who stutters. One per cent of all adults stutter, about 7.77 million people worldwide. Self-help organisations of people who stutter have now joined together worldwide to congratulate Joe Biden on his inauguration on 20 January 2021. The 31 organisations from 29 countries signed a joint letter of congratulations with the words: “Your achievement stands testament to the fact that having a stutter is no reflection upon brains or talent. This is an empowering message for young people who stutter here, and in every continent around the world”. The letter ends with, ‘You stutter, we stutter, it’s how we talk’.
Stuttering is a neurologically caused disorder of speech and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a person’s intelligence, character or personal environment. The signatories hope that Biden’s position will help the media and the public have a more positive and insightful understanding about what it means to have a stutter. Stuttering is no reflection on talent and should be no bar to ambition, it is just how some people talk. People who stutter, from young to old, are just as capable to live a successful life and act as role models and leaders in our world. There is no limit, no border. Because important is not HOW someone says something, but WHAT someone says. We just say it in our own way, summarises Anja Herde, Chair of the International Stuttering Association (ISA).
The following stuttering associations signed the letter before the press release was published:
| International Stuttering Association | Global association |
| Asian Association for Stuttering Organizations (AASO) | Asian association |
| Australian Speak Easy Association | Australia |
| Oesterreichische Selbsthilfe-Initiative Stottern | Austria |
| Botswana Stuttering Association | Botswana |
| Bulgarian Stuttering Association | Bulgaria |
| Burkina Faso Stuttering Association | Burkina Faso |
| Canadian Stuttering Association | Canada |
| Foreningen for Stammere i Danmark | Denmark |
| The Dominican Stuttering Foundation | Dominican Republic |
| Bundesvereinigung Stottern und Selbsthilfe e.V. | Germany |
| Ghana Stammering Association | Ghana |
| Malbjorg | Iceland |
| The Indian Stammering Association | India |
| Irish Stammering Association | Ireland |
| Japan Stuttering Genyukai Association | Japan |
| Shoqata Kosovare per Belbezim | Kosovo |
| Lithuanian Stuttering Problem Club | Lithuania |
| Nepal Stutters Association | Nepal |
| Nederlands Stottervereniging ‘Demosthenes’ | Netherlands |
| Pakistan Stammering Foundation, SAY Global Foundation | Pakistan |
| Habla Libre Peruvian Association | Peru |
| Russian Stuttering Association | Russia |
| Speakeasy Stuttering Association of South Africa | South Africa |
| VERSTA | Switzerland |
| Youth Action for Mutual Aid and fight against Stuttering | Togo |
| Stamma, 50 Million Voices | United Kingdom |
| National Stuttering Association, Friends | United States |
| Stuttering Association of Zambia | Zambia |
These associations supported the united congratulatory letter after the publication:
| Belgische Stottervereniging BSV | Belgium |
| Association bégaiement communication | Canada |
| Iranian Association Self -Help for stutterers | Iran |
| Stamningsförbundet | Sweden |
See the complete ISA_Press Release_Joe Biden_United Congratulatory Letter.