Former NBA Star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist advocates for all who share his speech condition.
Retired NBA star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist visited La Salle University on Dec. 4, 2024, not to talk basketball, but to talk about his journey as a person who stutters—and how he propelled that challenge into his current vocation as an advocate.
His visit sponsored by La Salle’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, was a standing-room-only affair as students, student-athletes, faculty, and staff gathered to learn from Kidd-Gilchrist’s insights and experiences of living with and advocating for the stuttering community.
“It was an honor to have Michael Kidd-Gilchrist come to La Salle and talk about his experiences as a person who stutters and his journey in overcoming his fears of stuttering in public,” Chair and Associate Professor in La Salle’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Ryan S. Husak, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, said. “He is an inspiration to us all and will have a positive and lasting impact on the students, athletes, faculty, and coaches who attended his presentation.”
From the time he was a teen, Kidd-Gilchrist was the standard of confidence and excellence on the basketball court. Determined, disciplined, and talented, he was rated as the No. 3 high school player in the nation and No. 1 at his position. He was selected as a McDonald’s All-American and was named Mr. Basketball USA.
He was recruited to the University of Kentucky, where he helped propel the Wildcats to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. In 2012, he was drafted to the NBA by Michael Jordan as the second overall draft pick of the then-Charlotte Bobcats. During his eight-year NBA career, he played for the Bobcats/Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and New York Knicks.
However, Kidd-Gilchrist’s confidence and on court success belied his personal struggle with his stuttering disorder.
Now, Kidd-Gilchrist is, once again, taking his game on the road, but this time as an advocate for the stuttering community. Leverage his celebrity, and more importantly, his trademark work ethic and determination, he’s sharing information about acceptance, treatment, and access to proper healthcare and services.
Through the foundation he started, Change & Impact (Amplifying Awareness for the Stuttering Community), he’s speaking to groups, engaging with the community, and lobbying elected officials to advance access to care. His efforts were recognized the day after he spoke at La Salle by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) with the Annie Glenn Award at the organization’s convention in Seattle, Wash., on Dec. 5, 2024.
At La Salle, Kidd-Gilchrist first told the audience that he was really happy to be at a storied institution as La Salle and in front of the speech-language pathology students (SLPs) who will play a vital role working with people who stutter.
“I appreciate the SLPs in this room for sure. Without you guys, I don’t know where I would be in terms of my confidence level as a person, so I want to advocate for more and more and more to help in this field,” he said.
Born in Philadelphia, the community is still special to him, he said, and he reminisced about his time on the local courts and playgrounds. “I’m a hometown kid for sure, and I like coming back and connecting with people in the community, and other people like me.”
His stuttering disorder was always difficult in school and as a kid, he said, but as his star rose thanks to his burgeoning collegiate and later NBA career, the media attention and social media comments made it much more difficult and personal.
“The hardest part of the journey with stuttering was when we won the NCAA championship and when I was drafted by Jordan,” he said. “There were a lot of interviews and social media attention. It was just me in the space, in social media, facing all the comments.” He added,” as an athlete, my path has been a bit odd, but I now use it as a way to help other.”
His commitment includes educating himself, too. He completed in an internship in Kentucky, so he could learn about the legislative process and effect real change in issues that impede care—such as insurance denials, lack of insurance coverage, or gaps in coverage—where many services are administered or regulated. He has already succeeded in getting two bills through state legislators to expand access to care, one in Kentucky and the other in Pennsylvania.
“I did not know anything about “Rs” and “Ds” or how to ask for a bill. I had an internship in Kentucky to learn about the bill making process, and it led to this. We got a bill in PA, where I was born—where I’m known for basketball—but I never would have thought I would get this bill done in PA, and I was in awe.”
It’s legislation, he says, that he’s grateful for, but that doesn’t go far enough to address the needs of the stuttering community. He noted that he didn’t have access to SLP services until he went to college, and missed out on the progress he could have made if he had early access to services. This is still happening to many people today.
“I’ll be back at it with these bills,” he said. “This PA bill covers kids up to age six. We’re going to work to cover older kids next.”
He got some encouragement from a familiar face in the crowd, La Salle men’s basketball head Coach Fran Dunphy, ‘70, who attended with several of his players. “I admire the hell out of you, and what you are doing,”: Dunphy said. “I also applaud La Salle’s speech language department. I am proud of all of you. We have a few guys who need this and were grateful. Michael, we’re grateful to you, too, and it is an honor and to sit and talk to you.” Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Associate Professor Jim Mancinelli, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, highlighted a take-away for the students in the room, especially those studying to become SLPs.
“Michael is an excellent example of self-efficacy and self-agency. I can do that—I will do that. He is an excellent example of those principles to remember when helping children and families.”
Kidd-Gilchrist had his own advice to disperse. “I would advise you all to think about how you all can advocate for what you believe in, as well, because it is a weight off my shoulders since I started this mission. And I am happy to play my part. But it takes everyone.”
The post A stutter step off the court for change appeared first on La Salle University.
0 Commentaires