All language subtitles for My.Beautiful.Stutter.2021.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

(pensive music)

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

(crickets chirp) (fire crackles)

- The first day I came here,

there was like questions about

like how confident you
are about your stutter.

And I put not at all.

- My dad would get upset.

And one time I had started
crying and yelled at him,

something like, you don't
know what it's like to be me.

You don't understand
what it's like

to be scared of
speaking in class

and to everyone around you.

And he just looked
at me and he's like,

"No, I don't, I'm sorry."

- Here is the only place where
I can actually be myself.

And I know like
that sounds corny,

but that's just because
it's really true.

Taro, you have made a
truly amazing place.

And it's really
helped me through

really tough times
where I felt alone.

(thoughtful music)

- I moved here in June, 1991.

And I remember looking around
at everyone in the park

and kind of just
watching everybody talk.

It just struck me
how easy it seemed

for people's mouths to move.

I remember just being
this 19-year-old kid

and just wanting that,
wanting that ease of speech.

My number one goal
in life when I was 19

and for many years
before and after that

was to not let anybody
see me stutter.

- What do Winston
Churchill, Marilyn Monroe,

Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce
Willis all have in common?

Anybody know?

- [Audience] Stuttering.

- That's right, you
are a smart audience.

They are all stutters.

In fact, this debilitating
speech disorder

affects more than 3 million
people in this country.

Many of whom suffer in silence.

- [News Anchor] Experts
define stuttering,

also called stammering as
an involuntary disruption

of the rhythm and
flow of speech.

The person knows where
he or she wants to say,

but just can't produce
the words fluently.

- And while many who stutter

try to stay out
of the spotlight.

One theater company in New York

is putting a group of
stuttering teens on center stage

and giving them the
confidence to speak freely.

- Their...

pieces can be a
play, a poem, a song.

- Nobody needs the white
crayon, I'm useless.

(audience laughs)

- Whatever they want to create.

- [News Anchor] The group
also has a sense of humor

noting on its programs
that the performance

will be anywhere
from two to 10 hours,

depending on the
actor's fluency.

- When I say our time,
you say 'bout time.

Our time.
- 'Bout time.

Our time.
- 'Bout time.

- [Taro] When I first had
the idea to start Say,

Everett was the first
person in the world

that I shared this idea with.

I think when a lot of
kids grow up stuttering,

you feel isolated
and you feel uncool.

And to me, Everett's like
the coolest person I know.

And so to have somebody with
that energy and that positivity

around these kids, you're saying
to them, you're important,

and what you have
to say matters.

- This is a big year at Say,

we have lots of seniors
graduating high school

and the Say program.

- [Taro] Most of the
kids and teens in Say,

don't want to be actors
or performers at all.

That's not the point.

Creating something
and then presenting it

in whatever form,
that's a scary thing.

Okay, you ready?
- Yeah.

- All right, here we go,

from the end of
Juliana speech, please.

- Thank you

so much for

listening.

(applause)

- She was never enthused
about going to school

because she was afraid to talk.

She couldn't be
herself at school.

She would tell me stories about

when it was her turn
to read in class,

how the kids wouldn't
have any patience.

And they would even
say, oh my God,

she's gonna take so long.

- It

wasn't just kids.

It was also teachers.

I think I was in
second or third grade.

I was asked to read aloud
from like a book, I stuttered,

and my teacher was
just mocking me

and like saying,
oh, you can do it.

Come on, you can do
it, you can read.

I feel like my stuttering almost

deemed me as like unintelligent

or something in
school, I don't know.

I just thought, you know,

I'll always be treated like
this because I'm the only one

in the world who has
to deal with this.

So I'm always going to
be treated like this,

and I just kind of accepted it.

And that sounds really bad,

but that's kind of how
it was at the time.

- And I didn't know how
depressed she was until last year.

- I had like, thoughts
of pretty bad things.

Like, I didn't want to be here.

I didn't want to deal
with anything anymore.

- It's been hard between
Juliana and I, you know,

because I wasn't
raised by my father.

So it got hard for me

to be there for her when
it comes to bullying.

- I was so withdrawn.

I would just
internalize everything.

So I would have to
let it out somehow.

And I would sing all the time.

- You're gonna laugh at
me, look how I tapped it,

I taped it with the
camera this way,

so now I have to turn the whole
thing over, can that work?

That's awful, can you see it?

♪ Everybody's been there ♪

♪ Everybody's been stared
down by the enemy ♪

- When she sings that's her
way of soothing herself.

I don't know, it
just makes her happy.

It's like, she's letting out.

I can't explain it, it's
like comforting to her.

♪ Never gonna shut you out ♪

♪ Everywhere I'm looking out ♪

♪ I'm surrounded
by your embrace ♪

♪ Baby I can see your halo ♪

♪ You know you're
my saving grace ♪

- It lets me forget
about anything

that makes me upset, sad,
hurt, anxious, anything.

♪ Halo feel your halo ♪

♪ Halo feel your halo ♪

♪ Halo feel your halo ♪

♪ Halo ♪

- I love that little smile
she puts it the end there.

- When I started Say
we would travel a lot.

It is a true
pleasure to be here.

The feedback was always from
both the parents and the kids.

Is there something
like this near me?

So after years of hearing
that and thinking,

how can we help more kids?

I thought a great
first step for that

would be to create a hub
where kids who stutter

from all around the country
and the world can come.

And so that's where the
idea for a summer camp came.

- How are you?

- I'm good.
- Awesome!

Just look around you guys,
look around to your right.

You can see some of the
camp, enjoy camp you guys!

(pleasant music)

- I think the first time
I noticed him stuttering

was when he was four

and afterwards he had something

traumatic happen in his life.

I was going to work,

and I was dropping
him off at school.

I was just about
to get into my car

when his father pulled up.

He started shooting and shooting

and I can just
plainly see that gun.

And I don't even
think that he noticed

that Malcolm was in the car.

I got shot right here in my arm

and a little glaze on my chest,

but he saw his
dad shoot himself.

I did not see that part.

After it was all over with

Malcolm kept asking me questions
about why did it happen?

And I couldn't
give him an answer.

I think he internalized
everything.

He thought it was his
fault that that happened.

- If you look here, I
got retired uniforms.

- [Interviewer] And what
led you to retire them?

- Because I'm gonna be a
famous baseball player.

- He was closing down, saying
that he didn't like who he was

because when he'd go to
school, people would tease him.

And especially when he had to
get up in front of the class

and do presentations,
he hated that the most.

- Last year we won the
championship against Milne.

- And once the teacher said,

we're gonna have to do
something about this stuttering,

like she was saying, it's his
fault that he was a stutterer.

- I'll show you
how far I can hit.

- He told me he felt embarrassed

because she said that
in front of the class.

- Ah, it's a ground ball.

- It's just recently last year

that he got help at a hospital.

- [Malcolm] There we go.

- His stuttering was
just becoming worse

and the kids were
being more aggressive

with their teasing and bullying

because of the way he talked.

- To read what these kids in
his school have done to him,

kicked, smacked, tripped.

And then just the way
he lists all the places,

lunch line, hallway, classroom,

and then even in the van
that brings him home.

I mean, it's just, it
breaks my heart, man.

- And a lot of people
don't intend to be hurtful.

I mean, there are many
people who are just assholes,

but most of the time,

I think people just don't
know what stuttering is.

- Hello. (Sarah shouts)

- She always loved
being around people,

reacting and playing,
goofing around.

- She's always been
very sensitive,

always needed a little extra
love and kisses and hugs,

but that's not bad.

(Sarah laughs) Happy kid.

What does a cow say?
- Moo.

- What does a horse say?
- Neigh.

- What does a pig say?
(Sarah snuffles)

- I can remember
the first time that

I picked up on
Sarah's stuttering.

And you were asking me if
I wanted to go and play,

and you get stuck
on the word, do,

do-do-do-do you want to play?

- I went to swimming lessons.

- [Sarah's Dad] You
had swimming lessons?

- And then, and then, and then.

- [Sarah's Dad] And then what?

And I could see that it
was just so hard for you

to get the words out right then.

And probably within
a week or two,

you know, we're at
the pediatrician,

just asking him for
a little advice.

♪
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocis ♪

♪ Even though the sound of it
is something quite atrocious ♪

♪ If you say it loud enough
you'll always sound precocious ♪

♪
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocis ♪

- For a long time, she
would come home from school

and she would just
kind of shut down,

and it would be
quiet in the house.

And Paul and I would say,

don't you wanna call
so-and-so to go out?

Don't you wanna go
out with a friend?

Don't you wanna do something?

And finally, one
day she said to us,

"I am so tired all
day of talking.

"It is exhausting."

"I have to think
where my tongue goes,"

"I have to think
how my breath is."

- [Sarah's Dad] Sarah.

- "Have to concentrate on
people's eyes for eye contact.

"By the end of the day, by
the end of the school day,"

"I can't, I just can't anymore."

- [Sarah's Dad] And
there you are baby.

Sarah was born early, she's
five and a half weeks early.

And could that have
caused some of this?

I mean, I was
strict with my diet.

I was doing all
the right things,

but there's always in
the back of your head,

what could I have
done differently?

Watching your child hurt,

that's the hardest
part of being a parent.

- I such a hard
time making friends.

People don't know
like what's going on,

are you nervous, is there
something not right?

I have a lot of good
friends back at home,

but I don't have like
that one best friend

that like gets me
and Sarah is that.

- [Emily's Mom]
You know, we should

look at these more often.

- [Emily] I like this one.

- Yup, that was at
the Oregon beach.

As far back as I can remember,

it's always been
Caroline, Em, and me.

And that's important to me,

you know that they
know that I'm there.

And I know that they
would be there for me too.

- When we were younger, we
had problems with our dad.

For Emily, Emily was,
you were terrified.

- I remember times
when I would like hide.

It was not the best time.

- My goal is to empower both
of them, how amazing they are.

With Emily she
needs to hear that.

And I try to do that
almost on a daily basis.

I remember in fifth grade,
we talked about affirmations

and Emily, we put up
affirmations all over the house,

and Emily put them up
all over in her room.

Wait 'til you see her
room, it's amazing.

Affirmations are
just saying things,

positive things that
you love about yourself,

whether you love them or not.

Like in fifth grade, I
started to do affirmations

and put them on sticky notes
on my wall and say things like,

I love my stutter, but at the
time, like I hated my stutter,

but the whole point
is to say something

until it becomes true.

- She always was smiling,
but she wasn't talking.

And people that knew her would
say, Emily doesn't stutter.

Nobody knew she stuttered
because she'd never talk.

- This poem is called Honest
Speech and it's by Erin Schick.

And she is a local
poet who stutters.

And it's just another voice
saying when I stutter,

I am speaking my own
language fluently,

like this is what I sound like,

and I have no shame about it.

"For too long I have been
afraid of my own name."

"The word invented
only to describe me."

"I have let it sit heavy in my
throat, a tool of betrayal."

And that is like a
really powerful line.

And like, that's how I
used to feel about it.

Literally, I was
afraid of my own name.

I didn't wanna say my own name.

"My mouth spit shines
syllables till they sparkle.

"So my voice is the
only one like it.

"This is not a
speech impediment.

"My voice is an instrument,"

"my stutter it's
greatest symphony,"

"my speech composed by God."

So good.

Ah, I get chills when I say it.

- For those of you that
have been here before

welcome back, welcome home.

For those of you, this is
your first day at camp Say

we open our hearts to you,
we open our arms to you

and we thank you so
much for coming here.

I have stuttered since
I was five years old,

I didn't meet anyone
else who stutters

until I was 26 years old.

It's a really long
time to grow up

feeling like I was the only
one that had this challenge.

It's a really long time
to grow up feeling alone.

And when I was a kid,
all I wanted was this.

I wanted to be
around other people

who know what it felt like
to talk the way that I did.

I wanted to be
around other people

who knew how frustrating it is

to have someone
else interrupt them

or finish their sentence for
them or give them that look.

That look of why do
you talk that way?

I think the way you
sound is beautiful,

right now, just the way you are.

We all come from very
different places.

None of us speak exactly the
same, none of us walk the same.

None of us dress the same,

but we are all human
beings that wanna be heard.

And that means
letting everyone have

as much time as
they need to speak.

A lot of these kids have
these hard shells up.

You know, it's like a turtle.

You have to put up your shell,

put up your box to
survive in this world

And you get to camp,

and we're talking
about listening

and acceptance and patience,

and it's like, I don't
know about that right now

because my wall is still up,

my really hard
shell is still up.

We're about to wake up

the whole camp right
now, over walkie.

Here we go, every
morning, eight o'clock.

Good morning Camp Say, this
is WSAY in the morning.

Let's have a blast today,
and have a lot, a lot of fun.

(Travis sings)

It's impossible to
have an amazing day

without the long standing
tradition of your morning song.

- I went through a period of
being kind of an introvert,

just like very quiet.

And I knew that that
wasn't my nature.

- Give it up for the one,
the only Travis Robertson.

(cheering)

- This sounds so weird, but
I would talk to myself a lot,

just like my thoughts.

You know, my dreams, or just
like random conversations.

I would talk to myself

because like that's when
I felt most comfortable

is when no one was judging me,

and I could just sort of
get out all I wanted to say.

Even now there are
times where like,

I have to remind
myself that it's okay.

It's okay that I stutter.

♪ I sure like Camp Say
and all of this food ♪

♪ And I sure like the
friends I'm making here too ♪

♪ And I'm thinking
back to last night ♪

♪ All the campers gathered
round that campfire ♪

♪ We just need one last
ingredient so fluffy and white ♪

♪ We're not talking
'bout jello ♪

♪ We roast marshmallows ♪

(cheering)

- It didn't happen when I sang,

which is a lot of the reason
why I do it today, you know?

It's a place where I just
feel totally just free.

I'm uninhibited.

(cheering)

I don't know what life
would have been like

if I didn't have
something like that

to just hold on to, you know?

I hope that this experience
is that for these kids

to carry with them beyond
these two weeks is the hope.

- [Taro] Y'all didn't know
he could sing like that.

(cheering)

All right, let's
keep the party going,

we got such a fun,
action-packed day.

(comforting music)

(chanting)

You ever feel like uncomfortable
or scared about a game

you can always
come to me, right?

Just come find me, and
we'll talk about it, okay?

Okay, we're ready
to go back in there?

There are some kids
that are coming here

that are in a real dark place

that don't feel like
they're important.

There are some kids
that are coming here

who've tried to kill themselves.

There are some kids
who come here who

feel inferior every
single day of their lives.

- [Counselor] Do you
wanna catch Taro up about

sort of the way you're
feeling right now?

- What's going on?

I want camp to be a profound
experience for each kid.

I want it to change their
life in some capacity.

For some kids, I want it
to turn their lives around.

- We first met here
at camp in 2013.

- I walked into the hero,

and then he was
playing this game

and I asked this woman
named Lauren, "Who's that?"

She was like, "Oh,
that's Ronin."

And I was staring at him, ahh,

and he's like, just
like playing the game.

He was so oblivious to all
my attempts at flirting

until then finally Emily was
like, "Dude, she likes you."

And then he's like,
"Wait, really, awesome."

So yeah, that's what happened.

- We first met in
the New York program

and we really didn't talk.

- Didn't you like ask me
out, like over Facebook?

(Julianna laughs)

- Probably did.
- He did.

- [Julianna's Mom] Hi Joe,
oh my God, this is so nice.

- Right?
- He matches so perfectly.

- Before you, you know, meet
anyone like cool and accepting,

like you just feel like, like,
will I ever, I don't know,

get to meet someone that
will love me the same way

like, I could love
another person.

People don't wanna be
friends with the weird girl.

And that made me
meet the nervous,

like am I never gonna
have a boyfriend?

I mean I wanna go through

the same things
every teenager does.

- I've never been in a
relationship and yeah, it's scary

'cause there's still that
part of me that's just like,

will I find a guy
who like likes me

and like loves my stutter.

I actually had an
incident in middle school

where a guy I had a crush on
came up to me and told me,

no guy will like you
because you talk like that.

- It is my delight to
pronounce you husband and wife.

(cheering)

- I remember so clearly
just being like hit

with this wave of fear
about, will I ever

find somebody to really
love me for who I am,

and accept me for
the way that I speak.

I was like these kids in Say.

- It's definitely
scary to think about

getting married and having kids.

And I often times
think about, you know,

from a genetic perspective,
are my kid's going to stutter?

I don't know how I feel.

I don't want other people to
go through what I went through.

- All right, next topic.

What do you say when
someone asks you,

why do you stutter,
what's the answer?

- Well, I just say like what
my speech therapist has told me

and I'm like,
well, it's genetic,

yes, it can be caused
from a brain injury,

yes, it can be caused
from like other things,

but a lot of time it's genetic,

like literally
someone has asked me,

okay, so middle school
was a tough time.

One person asked me,
"Are you stupid?"

And I'm like, no, like it has
nothing to do with my brain.

Like they they thought I was
not smart because I stuttered.

- [Teacher] Right, well, I mean,

it does have to do
with your brain,

but not how smart you are.

- Yeah, yeah, exactly right.

- Stuttering really is
a neurological disorder.

And the reason why you're
fluent when you sing

is because, you know, singing

is a very much more of
a right brained activity

while talking is a
left brain activity.

You know, it's not because
I'm emotional or anxious.

People who stutter are
emotional and anxious

because they stutter.

- I almost wish like,
for me personally,

like I had something
on my forehead

that says like I stutter,
no, I'm not nervous.

You asking me about
it makes me nervous.

Please give me the time of day.

Like, I just want like that.

It's exhausting, stuttering.

Like physically, I feel
it in my lips and my jaw,

like my jaw has really tense.

Everything around me stops,
like a pause and time.

I get really hot and
I just stand there

and it's like, I'm
hanging upside down,

like all the blood
rushes to my head.

Not everybody stutters the same.

- There's blocking, and
there's sound repetition,

and there's word repetition,

and there's syllable repetition.

- Elongation.

- When I'm like in a block,

I can like see it from
like another standpoint,

like as I'm doing it, it's like,

ah, this is taking
a while. (chuckles)

- I think I probably
block the most.

Which is where, you know,

the sounds stops completely.

- Like that.

That just an example.

- Yeah, and I didn't even try.

- What pediatricians for years
were actually trained to do

was to advise parents not to
talk about the stuttering,

and that if you
don't talk about it,

if you don't mention it,
it will just go away.

When you have a problem,
when nobody talks about it,

it really makes you feel
like it's really shameful.

The things that your
parents don't talk about

are usually the
biggest problems.

If they have a brother who
has a drinking problem,

well, we don't talk about
uncle Billy's drinking,

or we don't talk about
somebody's big, major problems.

You talk about people's problems
that aren't that important.

I used to go to bed every night,

and wish that I would
wake up and be fluent.

I used to go to bed every night

and wish that I wouldn't
wake up sometimes

because I thought
that stuttering

was this terrible thing
that you had to hide.

- My mom would put me in
speech therapy, kindergarten,

first grade, second grade,
third grade, fourth grade,

fifth grade, outside of school

because we didn't want
anyone to find out.

And I stutter in two languages

and I was just so tired of it.

And I told her, if you want
me to live a normal life,

you can't expect
people to try to fix me

'cause you can't really fix me.

- I just remember not wanting
to even talk about my speech.

I never wanted to talk about it.

I always like hated even
calling myself a stutterer,

I didn't like it.

- I was always trying
to find a cure for her

or somebody who can help her.

And finally, at
the age of seven,

a professional told
me you gotta stop.

You know, you have to
stop trying to fix this.

If at this age she's
still stuttering.

All you can do is
help her to manage it.

But she's gonna stutter
for the rest of her life.

And that really hit
me, that hit me hard.

I didn't handle it well at all.

I knew that her future
wasn't gonna be easy.

- It didn't even occur to me

that I was different until
I was in first grade.

And this popular
girl walked up to me

and she's like, Sarah,
what's your middle name?

And I said, Rose, like
whatever, sure, friend.

And she goes and she
stands on the tabletop,

and she goes S-s-Sarah
R-r-rose B-b-berkowitz,

and she throws her orange
peels from her lunchbox at me.

And I wish like I had a Say
to like make me understand

like, there's not like
something wrong with you.

Like you aren't a bad person.

Didn't do something
to deserve this.

- For those of you who
are new to camp Say,

and haven't heard about
this day yet, what we do

is we take all of the campers

and we divide you guys into
campers who are a little older

and campers who are
a little younger.

So when I call your
name, put your hand up.

When Meg calls your
name put your hand up,

'cause you guys can
wave to each other

so you know who the
people are, all right?

I already picked the first
name, it' right here,

and it is Emily Purkey.

- [Meg] With Tyrese.

- [Taro] Juliana.

- [Meg] And Mikayla.

- [Taro] Will Davis.

- [Meg] With Malcolm.

- [Taro] Got the
waving, see each other.

- In the outside world
you're always worrying

about people laughing
at you or teasing you.

And it's almost
weird going to camp

because for the first few days,

I wasn't used to this idea
that like, if I spoke,

like no one would
think that it was weird

if I was stuttering.

In fact, he would
would think that

it was weird if
I didn't stutter.

This is my teacher, Ms. Siegel.

- Hi, Will.
- Hi, Ms. Siegel, how are you?

- [Ms. Siegel] Fine thanks.

Will, it brings
attention to himself

by being quite literally
the tallest person

in the entire school.

He also is fearless and what
he contributes to class.

He's a very original
thinker, he's a great writer.

- I have a history
of being very open

with Ms. Siegel about my speech.

She was probably
one of three people

who read my college essay,

which was a very open
and heartfelt discussion

of how my speech has
affected my life.

So this is the first
paragraph of my college essay.

As a person who stutters I'm
defined by a tragic irony.

I love the sound a stunning
sentence makes in my head.

I love the feeling as
I put my pen to paper

and work to create
something beautiful.

- [Will's Dad] That's
right, how about a W?

- [Will] Yet there is
no feeling I know better

than that of a word
choked beneath my lips,

struggling to escape, yet
strangled beneath my larynx.

My greatest and most
unique attribute

is not my six foot six frame,

although that is most visible,

My defining characteristic,

the shaper of my being,
molder of my conscience

occurs when I open
my mouth to speak.

The words I produce, those
mangled, beautiful, ugly words.

Those are who I am.

Something I've
always wanted to try,

but haven't had a chance to yet.

I've always wanted to give
like a big public speech.

- What is your favorite
subject in school?

- Well, I really
don't like school.

- Okay.

You could say PE, lunch.

- Carpool.
- Carpool, why?

- Going home.

- Okay, that's a good one.

- Friendship, what does it mean?

A close that cannot be seen.

You might think it's a joke,

but with your good friend,
you can always share a Coke.

Now, it's good.

- It's good that you're making
some new friends who stutter,

did ya know, cause
we're pretty cool

if I do say so myself.

- WSAY. (applause)

- [Taro] You know how I usually
say WSAY in the morning,

well this is WSAY in the
evening, you feel me, okay.

- [Announcer] And in the
evening it's real, real chill.

- [Taro] It's so chill
that there's something

that's not allowed in this room.

Clapping.
- We ain't clapping tonight.

- [Taro] The way that we
celebrate each other tonight,

that's right, we snap it up.
- We snapping.

- This is WSAY evening
edition, only snaps.

The focus of tonight
is about your teamwork

and anything that you'd like
to express to your buddy.

And here at Camp Say,

we all have as much
time as we need to speak

with no time pressure at all.

And no pressure to
say anything at all,

if you don't want to.

So without further ado,
are there any buddies

that would like to come up
here and share something?

How about those two in
the front, come on up.

- Friendship, what does it mean?

- Close connection
that cannot be seen.

- Good friends can talk
however long they want.

- And if you stutter
they will never taunt.

(applause)

- Me and my buddy wrote
a poem and we said,

friendship is nice,
that's right, and bright.

Friendship is cool, hanging
in the pool, don't be a fool.

Friendship is fun
just like the sun.

And friendship is awesome
just like a possum.

(laughter)

- I'm not okay that
for two weeks a year,

the people that
happen to be here,

get to know these
kids in a way that

their families don't know

or their friends don't know
or their teachers don't know

or their speech
therapist don't know.

The whole point of this
place is to instill them

with this confidence
and this hope

and this knowledge
that they're wonderful.

And then to send them back

into their everyday
lives with that

so that they can be
their true selves.

- Hello.

Sit down, relax, let's be chill.

I'm Guy, thank you guys.

- Hi.

My name's Kendall.

(applause)
- Thank you, Kendall.

- Me and my buddy
Arman were hanging out

because it was his
last two weeks of camp.

- There's a lot of
sadness in this world.

There's a lot of sadness in
being someone who stutters,

there's a lot of pain
involved in that.

There's a lot of tears
that need to be shed.

So being able to do
that and get that out.

And then what's on the
other side of that rainbow

is this other side of
you, kind of the real you.

- Hey, there it is. (clapping)

- Got 'em. (shouting)

(cheering)

- Do you feel like your
teachers understand stuttering?

Not at all.

Do you feel like you
get cut off sometimes,

like people try
and answer for you?

- [Malcolm] Mm-hmm.

There's a difference between
knowing something cognitively

and knowing something
emotionally.

A lot of people
cognitively understand

that it would be better for them

to just tell everyone
that they stutter

before they have a conversation.

What do you think
that'll be like

if you talk to your teacher?

- She would understand.

- I hope so.

I think that's a
really cool idea.

You can know that that's
a great thing to do,

but if you're not
emotionally ready to do it,

it's never gonna happen.

- Aw, thought that was going in.

- You have to really believe

that you have the
strength to do that.

And you have to believe that

it's gonna make a
difference in your life.

You feel like you can say
what you wanna say here?

- Yeah.
- Great.

You can't always make
the shot you wanna make.

- Good morning, everybody.

I'd like to welcome
you to Camp Say.

My name is Taro Alexander

and I'm the founder and
director of Camp Say.

It's a true pleasure
to welcome you here.

Your kids are so remarkable
and talented and kind,

and we're looking forward
to showing you around today

and showing you some of
the things that we've done.

- I think one of the
most important things

we've learned over
the last year or so

is this stutter doesn't have
to be something we focus on.

Doesn't have to be
something that impedes you

from having a great life, right?

And that message in some ways,

conflicts a little bit with
the idea of working on it,

or doing therapy
or focusing on it

or trying to improve it.

And I'm really
curious how everybody

strikes that balance, right?

When we hear the word therapy,

we think, oh, they
need to be fixed.

It basically is simply
something that gives them

the confidence and the
tools when they need it.

Once I came to
terms with the fact

that he's gonna stutter
for the rest of his life

and I accepted
it, he started to.

- I'm the type of
father who thinks

he can fix anything
for his family,

with Melanie and the
stuttering I couldn't.

She would say, you know,

Dad, it's not getting any better

and it doesn't look like
I'm gonna grow out of it.

And you know, we talked about
it and she said, you know,

it's just tough when you
can't even say your name.

- [Emily] Wide-eyed
at lunchtime.

First grade seemed quite fine

until they asked for my middle
name, and I took my time.

"S-s-sarah R-r-rose
B-b-berkowitz,"

they chanted to me as they
stood up on the tables

and threw orange
peels aggressively.

- We enrolled her in
a program in Boston

and it was intensive.

Three weeks later, she's
giving a presentation

in front of 50 people
with zero bumpiness.

And that was just before
we came to Camp Say.

- Class presentation
at eight years old,

my words got stuck
and I was out of luck

as my fellow classmates
laughed at me.

- Taro had mentioned
to me that, you know,

stuttering is a
lifelong journey.

That intense therapy that
Melanie went through,

there would be some
digression in her speech.

So I just took a moment,
got myself together

'cause I didn't know
how I'd react walking in

and seeing Melanie
for the first time

and trying not to
analyze the first word

that comes out of her mouth.

I gave her a hug,
gave her a kiss

and asked her if she
had a great time.

And unfortunately she didn't.

(mournful music)

As a parent, I want
my daughter to improve

and I wanna see improvement
in her stuttering.

She's stuttering more
than I had hoped for.

She's in tears, obviously
we were in tears

when we first met her.

This is not the greatest
experience for her, unfortunately.

- 15-years-old and life is hard.

I wish I wasn't dealt this card.

Why do I talk like this, why me?

Did I do something wrong,
what's wrong with me?

My head's spinning
with questions

and it's never gonna stop.

That's why I end up on the
bottom and never on the top.

- I think for parents that
are sending their kids here

with this desire of, I want
the stutter to go away,

man, I get it, I so get it.

I have a beautiful three
and a half year old daughter

who's stuttering right now.

This is my daughter, Hazel.

Do you have a title?

Nope, okay.

This is my daughter,
Hazel, who is awesome.

(applause)

I also know that we're laying
the foundation right now

for her to love herself
just the way she is.

- 16-years-old and
as happy as can be.

I'm with all of my friends
who can really understand me.

- Going from a three week
fluency intensive program

to a place where you're
surrounded by people

who are saying
stuttering is okay.

I mean, just those two
things back to back,

I think are hard.

I think if it was the opposite,

I think it would have
been pretty outstanding.

- I found my home, I
can finally fit in.

This is where I belong,
where everyone gets along.

No more tormenting,
no more tears.

I feel better than
I have in years.

Camp Say is my home, I am
not and will never be alone.

- My son's with a speech
therapist at school,

he said to her, "I don't
want to do this anymore"

"because if I didn't
stutter, I wouldn't be me."

I cried my eyes out, and I said.

- Good morning Camp
Say, this is WSAY.

Hope y'all had a
great night sleep

and hope y'all are ready for
Teams Day, Championship Day.

So the word of the
day today is teamwork.

I know I'm feeling
ready, feeling confident,

feeling ready to let
everybody's light shine today

and be the true
champions that you are.

'Cause everyone is a champion
today, and every day.

- [Instructor] Fire
when you're ready,

(arrow thuds) (crowd cheers)

(arrow thuds) (crowd shouts)

(whistle chirps)
- It's all over!

- Carter, Carter.
- Let's go Carter, let's go.

- (claps) Let's go
Carter, let's go! (claps)

(cheering)

- [Announcer] All right, guys,

it's time for some basketball!

(shouting)

- These counselors want it bad.

Players this year, they
have a title to defend.

(chanting)

(shouting)

- Splash Warriors on
three, one, two, three!

- [Everyone] Splash Warriors!

(clapping)

- [Announcer] Nine,
eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one!

(whistle chirps)

(shouting)

(cheering)

- [Announcer] Splash Warriors!
(cheering)

(applause)

- That's a lot of contact
ref, a lot of contact.

(cheering)
- Woo!

(cheering)

- Pick it up, pick it
up, let's go, let's go!

- [Announcer] Eight,
seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

(shouting)

- [Interviewer] How
much was that shot

at the end of the half
a shift in momentum,

and how do you play the counter
to start the second half?

- You know, I'm not
too worried about it.

We've been focusing on bonding,
coming together like a team.

So like I think little
things like that

won't shake our unity.

I trust my guys.

(chanting)

- I just think that
they gotta dig deep.

You know we're playing
a really good team.

The campers are really
strong this year,

they have great teamwork,
talented players.

- Let's bring the heat,
I think we can come back.

- Let's do this
you guys, come on!

- On three, one, two, three.
- Heat!

- [Everyone] Teamwork
makes the dream work!

(clapping) (whistle chirps)

- [Taro] Hands
up, hands up, yes!

Keep those hands up!

(cheering)

- [Announcer] 11, 10,
nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,
three, two, one!

(whistle screeches)

- There you go, there you go!

We have the momentum, they
don't know what happened,

they're seriously
shocked right now.

One, two, three.

- [Everyone] Teamwork
makes the dream work!

- Be ready, all right, be ready.

(cheering)

- The contact, man.

(cheering)

(cheering)

(shouting)

- [Announcer] Five,
four, three, two, one!

(whistle chirps)

(shouting)

- It's called championship day

not because of this
basketball game.

It's called championship day

because each and every
one of you are champions.

And you're champions
because of what's in here

inside your heart.

It's hard to be there for
each other all day long.

We've been going since
9:45 in the morning

with just a few little
breaks here and there.

And the support that
you guys give each other

so that every single person
had a moment to shine.

That's what being a champion is.

You came into this
camp, a champion,

whether you knew it or not.

We didn't do anything,

but give you the
opportunity to shine.

So remember that.

Remember that
that's in your heart

and you have the capability

of being a champion
every single day.

You just gotta do
it and believe it.

I love you guys very much.

Congratulations on a
great championship day.

(cheering)

I was, I think 25
or 26 years old,

and I was doing a
play out in Colorado.

I was on the phone
with my grandparents.

They asked me the name of
the play that I was in,

they couldn't remember
the name of the play.

I couldn't couldn't say the
name without stuttering a lot.

It was like probably the
longest stutter that I've had.

And I was like, kind of
pounding on the table

or pounding on myself
or doing something

to physically just
get it to come out

and it wasn't coming out
and it wasn't coming out.

I ended up physically sitting
on the floor of my closet

and like yanking at a shirt,

just pulling at the
shirt with all my might.

Just trying to yank it down to
get this word out, sweating.

Finally, I like yanked this
shirt so hard the word came out,

And you know, my grandparents

are the greatest
people in the world.

They said, oh right,
that that's what it was.

Sorry, we couldn't remember.

It was one of those moments
where you see yourself,

like from outside of yourself,

I was just looking at this
picture, like I'm 26 years old,

I'm sitting on the floor
in my closet, sweating.

There was no one to
talk to about it.

And I couldn't say
to my grandparents,

man, that was so hard,
stuttering is so sometimes

because I had hit
that for 15 years.

And I just sat there and I was
feeling so incredibly lonely

and scared and just pitiful.

And in that moment
I looked at myself

and I said, you need to change,
something needs to change.

This hiding, this
constant hiding

and not talking about this thing

that is driving every moment
of your life has to change.

Fear was the main feeling
that dictated my choices.

I want these kids to
not live that way.

I want them to go for it.

And not let fear dictate
their daily life.

One of the biggest
things about today

is making sure that
the kids feel ready

to face the world tomorrow
because this place is great.

And then tomorrow they gotta
go back to the real world.

Travis, come on up.

- We're a family.

I look around and I see family.

That's something
that I have come

to know the meaning
of better and better

in these past few
years of my life.

I'm proud to say that you
all are a part of my family.

Hold onto this time and take
it far beyond these two weeks

because I know that I will.

I love all of you guys.

And I want you to know that
you're all incredibly special.

- They may have
felt that stuttering

was the problem in their life,

but when they meet 20
other kids who stutter

in 20 other different ways
and they get to see some kid,

who's just like me.

Who's the greatest kid at
basketball at his school

or I'm seeing a kid
who is just like me,

who's asking questions to
the adults in the room.

Or I'm seeing a kid
who's just like me

who seems to be struggling
even more than I am.

That makes it harder to
really buy into the idea

that you're the only one.

And that your
stutter defines you

as much as you think it does.

- One thing that
Malcolm loves to do

is like pushups and stuff.

So I told Malcolm
that if there's ever

like a girl walking past
and he's doing pushups,

he should just
immediately go 99, 100.

(Malcolm laughs)
- Right so that way

you seem even like tougher
and stronger, right?

- Yeah, and doing dips.

- The dips.
- Yeah.

It's like the same
thing with the pushups.

You do like one, two.

- [Both] 99, 100. (laughs)

(fire crackles) (crickets chirp)

- Coming around right now,

everyone's gonna
get a paper plate.

I want you to write
down on that plate,

a wish or a memory from
this summer at Camp Say.

Want you guys to walk
towards the lake,

the counselors are there
with some little candles,

and then you're going
to put the plates

with the candle
on it in the lake.

That's your way of sending
your wish out there.

And throughout the evening,

the lake will just get
more and more filled

with our wishes and
dreams and memories.

We're gonna open up the
circle for anyone that

would like to say anything.

You'd like to share something,
just raise your hand.

- Throughout my childhood,
I couldn't make any friends.

Each year in my head, I said,

these people actually
care about me?

What did I ever
do to deserve it?

And now this year, I
finally have my answer.

I got this just for being me.

So thank you.

- The amount of pain

that is caused by stuttering
is not determined on age,

but how long you go without
knowing that stuttering is okay.

- One of my bunkmates said
something and he said,

you know, we have to leave
home to come to camp,

and now we have to
leave camp to go home.

But tomorrow I'm not going home.

I'm going to camp.

And then in a year, I'm
coming back home here.

If everyone could
just take a moment,

put your hands down and look up.

You find a star,

put all your energy on
focusing on that one star.

Just keep looking at that star.

And tomorrow night, wherever
you are, look up at the sky

and know that when you're
looking up at that sky,

when you're looking
up at those stars,

we'll all be looking
up there too.

And that we are right
there beside you.

And we're whispering in
your ear, you can do it.

And we're whispering in
your ear, you're not alone.

- This is my third year here,
and for the past two years,

I would have been
crying my eyes out

because I would
have been so, so sad

to leave this amazing place.

But right now I'm excited
to be completely honest.

I'm so excited to bring
all of these friendships

and all of these emotions
back into the real world.

Just hearing everyone's thoughts

and hearing your beautiful
voices, it just inspires me.

- Nothing used to worry
me more than my future

until I came here and I found

the most powerful thing in
the world, which is hope.

And there's one person in this
camp has inspired me the most

and he's not here right now
because he's nine years old,

he's probably asleep,
but that's Malcolm.

Malcolm's had a
really hard life.

Look at him now.

There's never a time he doesn't
have a smile on his face.

And the fact that he's
gone through things

I can never even imagine.

And he's still the way he
is inspired me so much.

I could not be more thankful
for the opportunities

that this camp's given me and
for all that it's taught me.

(melancholy music)

- [Interviewer] What's
your best advice for Will

going forward into college?

- Don't let nothing stop you

from reaching your own goal.

- Perfect.

- Goodbye Will.

- [Meg] If I call your name

please make your way
out the blacktop.

- [Emily] And I literally live
across the country from you.

- That's okay, I'll just run
there with my pigeon toes

like Forrest Gump, just cross
country and grow a beard.

I'm already halfway there,
I have to wax my upper lip.

(laughter)

- The world needs you,

the world really,
really needs you Tiana.

You are Say Julianna.

And not because you're
a beautiful singer,

not because you
write amazing songs

because of who you
are in your heart.

I just beg of you to keep
believing in yourself.

- This is like our
break from reality.

- If the first step is, I
think that stuttering is okay.

If you can get that foundation
there and strong and real,

you can do whatever you want.

You can do this, keep
reaching out for support,

we're all here for you, yeah?

And that sentence it's
okay that I stutter,

that took a very,
very long time for me.

That takes a lifetime
for some people.

(mournful music)

(bats clang)

- When he came
back from Camp Say

he was very happy and very
positive about himself.

I didn't really know who he
was, (laughs) to be honest.

I was like, "Is this you",

"what happened to my
Malcolm?" (laughs)

- You really believe
in yourself, right?

And you know that
you have something

really important to say, right?

- Yep.

- I feel much better
now that he knows

it's okay to have a stutter.

He starting to accept
himself for who he is.

And tomorrow there's gonna
be a lot of people there

that are gonna be really
interested in what you have to say.

You're such a good writer and
you're such a great speaker.

- Thank you.
- My goodness.

You were just the man.

He's got it going on.

We can't change the way we
love, the color of our skin,

you know, our eyes, anything.

And I wouldn't want him to
change his speech, you know.

I love him just the way he is.

- I dealt with
stuttering as a kid,

dealt with it my whole life.

The most important thing
is you live the life

that you wanna live.

Don't let it stop you
from doing anything.

Don't be bad.

Don't be bad and say this
is who I am, don't do that.

- All right.

- When you have a
stuttering problem

it's harder to make friends.

Some of my classmates
are bullies

that torment and then harass me.

They have kicked me,
tripped and push me.

I am being bullied sometimes

when I'm standing
in the lunch line,

in the hallway, in the
classroom, at recess,

and sometimes on a van that
brings me home after school.

At that moment, I felt like

that I was on a
planet all by myself,

trapped and cut
off from the world.

It is a everyday
battle for me to speak.

I believe that love has the
power to crush any barrier.

I am breaking down
my stuttering barrier

and moving forward you using
courage and determination.

Thank you. (applause)

(cheering)

- I was like nervous,

'cause I didn't want to mess up,

but I don't think I did.

This mentality of getting
frustrated at someone

for taking a long time
to order at Starbucks,

or a car not immediately
moving on a green light,

or even getting
annoyed at the freshmen

for standing in the middle
of the hallway astounds me.

We want things now.

And this pressure of
our fast pace world

really affects the
stuttering community.

Just be patient,
stop and listen.

Because for all you
know someone could say

the most inspirational,
insightful,

and incredible few words
you'll ever hear in your life.

And they can take five minutes
to say them, thank you.

(applause)

- [Everett] Two, three,
four, check, check, one, two.

- This coming to
an end with Say,

I'm a little bit
worried about that.

- [Interviewer] How do you mean?

- Like I think she's
gonna be extremely sad.

I mean, it's been such
a big part of her life.

(upbeat music)

♪ Well I believe that
I can make a change ♪

♪ Look out world I'm gonna
say what I have to say ♪

♪ If you try to dream
be all you can be ♪

♪ Put your hand up put
your put your hand up ♪

♪ Put your hand up ♪

♪ (singing indistinctly) ♪

(Julianna cries softly)

- One time Taro approached me,

and he said, "Do you know
Julianna has an amazing voice?"

And I said, "She does?"

(chuckles) I didn't know.

He said, "Do you mind if she
stays a little longer today"

"because Everett
wants to work with her"

"on a song that she wrote."

- [Interviewer] How old was she?

- She was eight years old, yeah.

- We have a huge group
of graduating seniors

in our program this year.

If you're a graduating senior,

come on in the
middle of the circle.

(applause)

You guys are our future.

So the pledge I wanna know,

can you live your life with
courage, let me hear you.

- [Seniors] Yes.

- Can you live your
life with bravery?

- [Seniors] Yes.

- And can you not
give up on your dreams

even when it gets really hard?

- [Seniors] Yes.

All right, I want a
group hug with you guys.

(applause)

- Stuttering isn't something
that gets a lot of attention.

I think stuttering gets
15 minutes here and there.

But if you are a child
who stutters it's 24/7,

just a couple of weeks ago,

we got a call from a family
and there was a young man

who we know who tried
to take his own life.

And you know,

he's just a kid.

And to think that
that's the option

that's better than getting up
and going out and stuttering.

- You know, it's like life is
like building these bricks,

building this fountain.

I want tonight to be like a
solid brick in their life.

- Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

- The gala is the
scariest show of all.

- Yeah, why is that?

- There's about 300 people here.

- Probably about 500 people.

- My God!

- You've got this.

- There are over 70 million
people who stutter in the world,

including 5% of all children.

Every day, kids who
stutter shutdown.

How many silent kids
are sitting at the back

in the classroom, who
are actually brilliant?

Who are just pretending
not to know the answers

because they're afraid to talk,

because they're
terrified of being

bullied or ridiculed
about the way they speak.

These kids who
stutter will go on

to do all kinds of
different things.

They just need the
opportunity to do it.

♪ I didn't give up ♪

♪ Hardships in my life
told me to never give up ♪

- My name is Amy
and I graduate Say

with the confidence
to face the world.

(applause)

My name is Will,

and I graduate Say with a voice.

(applause)

- Thank you you guys
so much for being here

to support these
amazing young people.

So when Juliana
started coming to Say

she was seven years old

and had never met another
person who stutters it,

It has been truly a
remarkable journey

to watch her grow
up over the years.

Juliana is smart,
kind, creative,

and she inspires me
every single day.

Juliana Padilla. (applause)

Confidence.

A word that did

not exist in my

vocabulary.

I absolutely hated
my stuttering.

I thought, why me?

Why am I even here?

I shouldn't have to hide
the fact that I stutter.

I have a right to be
heard because of Say,

I've found my voice.

I now

feel like I have a
purpose in this world

and a reason to live.

Thank you so much for listening.

(applause)

(hopeful music)

- I just want that
mentality of stuttering

as a negative thing to end.

And I'm so passionate
about just letting you know

that it's okay, it's
okay, it's more than okay.

I felt so sure that I
was gonna be a nurse.

And then now I'm like
having second thoughts.

I don't know a lot of things
in my life has changed.

I wanna spend my
time on something

that I really, really love,

and that's that's music.

That's theater.

That's singing.

- I've been a bit on edge.

I think that's an
understatement. (laughs)

Hello, Class of 2017.

I never thought I would
be delivering this.

My self confidence
wasn't as good back then

because of all of the teasing,

and now look at me
now bitches. (laughs)

We all have a
voice and a choice.

Gifts that we can use
to crush and silence

or to encourage and empower.

Today I challenge us to
go out into the world

and learn about the
people and cultures

that are different from who
we are and where we come from,

to hear people for what they
say, not how they say it,

to build bridges
instead of walls.

Our future hasn't
been written yet.

Class of 2017, let's
write a good one.

(applause)

- This has become one of my
favorite nights of the year.

I look forward to this so much.

My stuttering in
a way was a gift

because it helped me
develop my curiosity

and my listening abilities
and my ability to observe.

- I've been stuttering
for 55 years.

You can do it, your
voice does matter.

(applause)

♪ Now it's our time
to say rock it out ♪

♪ Say rock it out ♪

♪ Say rock it out ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say rock it out ♪

♪ Say rock it out ♪

♪ Say rock it out ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say get loose ♪

♪ Say get loose ♪

♪ Say get loose ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say get hyped ♪

♪ Say get hyped ♪

♪ Say get hyped ♪

♪ Now it's our
time to say love ♪

♪ Say love ♪

♪ Say love ♪

♪ Now it's our
time say bravery ♪

♪ Say bravery ♪

♪ Say bravery ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say get down ♪

♪ Say get down ♪

♪ Say get down ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say get down ♪

♪ Say get down ♪

♪ Say get down ♪

♪ Now it's our
time to say peace ♪

♪ Say peace ♪

♪ Say peace ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say compassion ♪

♪ Say compassion ♪

♪ Say compassion ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say get loud ♪

♪ Say get loud ♪

♪ Say get loud ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say good show ♪

♪ Say good show ♪

♪ Say good show ♪

♪ Now it's our time
to say good show ♪

♪ Say good show ♪

♪ Say good show ♪

♪ Now it's our
time to say love ♪

♪ Say love ♪

♪ Say love ♪

- There we go. (cheering)

♪♪