{"id":24573,"date":"2022-10-07T15:59:01","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T19:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=24573"},"modified":"2022-10-07T15:59:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T19:59:01","slug":"herd-student-athlete-serves-as-role-model-for-stuttering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/herd-student-athlete-serves-as-role-model-for-stuttering\/","title":{"rendered":"Herd student-athlete serves as role model for stuttering"},"content":{"rendered":"
Senior Thundering Herd Safety Andr\u00e9 Sam (pictured) may be known for his work ethic on the football field, but it\u2019s his story off of the gridiron that is inspiring others. His near-lifelong battle with stuttering is helping him serve as a role model for young people who have speech impediments.<\/p>\n

Sam recently sat down for an interview to discuss his stuttering journey, in a video titled Andr\u00e9<\/em> Sam: A Profile of Courage<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jamie Maxwell, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at Marshall University, said she first met Andre last year after he moved to the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is an amazing young man,\u201d said Maxwell. \u201cThe way he has developed a passion for advocating for kids who stutter to be resilient is inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stuttering is a speech disorder that only affects 1% of the United States population, which is equivalent to 3 million people.<\/p>\n

Sam says he first began stuttering sometime after his sixth birthday, after his father passed away. Shortly afterward, he also lost his grandfather. The disorder stuck with him and now at the age of 23, he is gaining more confidence in speaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not stop talking like I once did,\u201d said Sam. \u201cFor someone to try to say what they really want to say and they can\u2019t say it, it\u2019s hard. For someone who doesn\u2019t know, just take your time with them to make them feel that they can always remain themselves around you. That\u2019s what I look for. I look for people who really want to talk to me and they know that I stutter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what is so special is the theme of resilience in his life,\u201d said Maxwell. \u201cHe has overcome so many things from losing family members to being bullied and teased. Through both supportive relationships and athletics, he has been able to find support, encouragement and confidence. In doing so, Andr\u00e9 was really able to be himself. He is a person who exudes personality, energy and kindness. When people meet Andr\u00e9, I think they are drawn to those qualities in him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maxwell says stuttering affects each person differently, but Sam\u2019s story stands out because he has a willingness and passion to reach others, especially children, who stutter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people really see who Andr\u00e9 is in the video and understand how significant him telling his story really is,\u201d said Maxwell. \u201cI want people to hear what he has to say, without getting hung up on how he says it. I also hope this helps people understand what stuttering is and what it is not a little more. It has nothing to do with a person\u2019s intelligence or their abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam says he truly feels like part of the Marshall Family and credits his time on the football team with helping him feel his best.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball, for me, is like my mind is completely blank,\u201d said Sam. \u201cIt\u2019s where I feel comfortable to just be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of myths about what stuttering is and what causes it,\u201d said Maxwell. \u201cStuttering is a difference in someone\u2019s speech patterns that has been linked to differences in how the brain wires and fires for speech production. It has nothing to do with a person\u2019s intelligence. It\u2019s not a disease, it\u2019s a difference. I think Andre\u2019s story reminds us to value people and what they have to say. We can all learn to be better listeners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very unique, I\u2019m not like most,\u201d said Sam. \u201cI\u2019ve learned to accept myself. It took 23 years, but I\u2019m just glad that I\u2019m starting to accept myself for me and I\u2019m glad I am this way because I\u2019m not like most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andr\u00e9 <\/em>Sam: A Profile in Courage<\/em> may be viewed by visiting http:\/\/bit.ly\/AndreSam<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior Thundering Herd Safety Andr\u00e9 Sam may be known for his work ethic on the football field, but it\u2019s his story off of the gridiron that is inspiring others. His near-lifelong battle with stuttering is helping him serve as a role model for young people who have speech impediments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":24574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,45,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cohp","category-featured","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24575,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24573\/revisions\/24575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}