Read on Twitter
So here& #39;s something you likely don& #39;t know about me. I couldn& #39;t speak properly as a child, my speech disability was severe.
/1 https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1296864641491116032">https://twitter.com/joncooper...
/1 https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1296864641491116032">https://twitter.com/joncooper...
My parents didn& #39;t cope well with it. They decided I was broken and wouldn& #39;t amount to much.
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Growing up it was hard to learn normal social skills. Trying to express emotions let alone words was nearly impossible.
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Turns out I wasn& #39;t an idiot. Turns out I just couldn& #39;t say the words that demonstrate learning and intellect in the classroom setting.
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I was kicked out home at 18. It was a violent and coercive environment anyway, and once I was away from the toxic elements in my life I was able to begin the work to learn to speak.
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It took about a decade to see real change. It& #39;s a slow process. You have to learn new skills and you have to rewire your brain. It& #39;s not unlike recovering from a stroke.
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Every decade since I& #39;ve faced new challenges. When you overcome a obstacle you get stronger. Not so much when you fail.
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Every single day it& #39;s a challenge that& #39;s with me. Most days I cope pretty good, much better than when I was a kid. Some days I do not and within seconds I& #39;m back to being a broken teenager who& #39;s parents have up on.
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Joe Biden faces this every day too. You don& #39;t stop having a speech disability, you just get better at dealing with it. Joe is working overtime to keep fluent, like a duck paddling against the current.
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Speech impediments and stuttering is a weird obstacle to grow up with. You normal to the world, until you start taking. Or trying to. Then suddenly there& #39;s a wall between you and the world.
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I never imagined that "someone like me" could be President of the United States. You discount your own potential from a very early age. You count yourself out.
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There a reason Joe Biden has so much compassion. He knows what it& #39;s like to be treated differently, to be discounted, to be sidelined.
That& #39;s pretty rare for a white dude.
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That& #39;s pretty rare for a white dude.
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As a side note, let me also say how powerful the internet is for people with a speech disability.
These little packets of words flung into Twitter allow me to have a voice. In ways that a 15 year old me did not. You can& #39;t imagine how that makes me feel.
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These little packets of words flung into Twitter allow me to have a voice. In ways that a 15 year old me did not. You can& #39;t imagine how that makes me feel.
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For all the things that are fkd up on social media, giving a voice to those who do not have one is just remarkable. A chance to engage, connect, learn, share and grow.
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This becomes even more important when you lack parents who are capable of being parents. Twitter is not just people screaming, it& #39;s people connecting and caring. It really really is.
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I& #39;ve seen first hand here what it looks like to be a good parent. I see so many great parents who struggle and push and work so hard to help their kids overcome whatever challenges stand in their way. It& #39;s wonderful to see.
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I wonder how many kids out there with a speech disability today are getting a chance to see themselves as full of potential. Seeing that they could have a future. Maybe even to be President.
That& #39;s pretty amazing. Thanks @JoeBiden.
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That& #39;s pretty amazing. Thanks @JoeBiden.
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One more tweet for this thread, another thread with a lot of interesting reading. Thanks to @latifnasser for this link: https://twitter.com/Barry_Yeoman/status/1296752861649526787?s=19">https://twitter.com/Barry_Yeo...
