“But it was still quite a difficult thing. I also had very big, blue NHS glasses - NHS is the National Health Service, one day I hope you’ll have the same! And I lacked an eardrum on one side of my ear, so stuttering was actually the least of my problems!” I had a port-wine stain birthmark on my face that I got lasered off when I was very young one day, they forgot to put the anesthetic on, and ever since then, I had a stutter. In his speech, Sheeran proudly noted his childhood’s rougher edges. “It’s not true to your real character it’s just that you’re limited in your ability to speak.… I wanted people to understand that it wasn’t that I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to say or who I wanted to be.” “It can be mistaken for a learning disability, an anxious sensibility or a weakness,” the actress, emceeing the evening in an Elisabetta Franchi jumpsuit, told THR. "Honestly, there are still people who make fun of me, but it doesn't affect me now.The musician was commended at the New York City fundraiser for his openness about overcoming his stutter, an oft-shamed disorder that Emily Blunt also conquered when a teacher first suggested she try out for a school play. I was afraid of being rejected and feeling like an outcast and being made fun of," he said. The prospect of SAY helping more people overcome their impediment is exciting, Joe Giga said. His half-brother, Jason "Jace" Alexander, is a Broadway and film actor as well as director whose credits include "Ally McBeal," "The Practice" and "House M.D."Įarly next year, Alexander plans to open an after-school arts program for kids who stutter at Applause, a kids' theater in Mamaroneck as well as that Westchester chapter of SAY. His father, Bobby Alexander, founded the legendary Living Stage Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., and was married to actress Jane Alexander, a former Putnam County resident who now lives in Westchester. No one knows why that happens, and it is not true across the board."Īlexander has strong show business connections. "Some performers, when they perform, they don't stutter. "I didn't stutter when I performed," said Alexander. At 19, he played Jay in the national tour of Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers" and toured the country for two years. "It was a very frustrating and isolating way to grow up."Īlexander came to New York from Washington, D.C., after graduating from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. The first time I met someone who stuttered was when I was at 26," said Alexander. "I grew up not knowing a single person who stuttered. "It allowed him to express himself," his mother said.Īlexander, who founded SAY in 2001, said his own experience with stuttering motivated him to help others. When he came back from camp, he looked happy. "But I wanted Joe to be ready for high school." Giga signed him up for a summer camp organized by the group in North Carolina. That concern vanished after she met founder Taro Alexander and saw the interest the staff took in her son. When she found out about SAY, previously called Our Time, Giga said she was skeptical. "He wouldn't be able to communicate when he came home from all the stress of getting through the day at school," she said. I used to never raise my hand in class, but now I feel like your words actually matters to the world."Ĭhristine Giga said her son did well during his early school years, but by the time he got to middle school, things had changed. "Just hanging out with other kids who are stutterers made me comfortable. "The organization gave me a lot of self-confidence," said Giga, who started going to weekend meetings in Manhattan four years ago. Later, Groban makes a surprise appearance onstage.
Giga was part of the chorus for "You are Loved (Don't Give Up)" by Josh Groban sung by a fellow SAY member. The group, along with Giga and other teens, are being featured on "The Meredith Vieira Show" - she's an Irvington resident - Monday at 2 p.m.