We have a wonderful opportunity to work with adults who have lost or suffered impairment in their ability to communicate successfully. This population may include people who have suffered from a stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and people who stutter. In the last few years, two movies have portrayed rather famous adults with similar communication difficulties.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The former French Elle editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, suffered a massive stroke that left him with a condition called locked-in syndrome. He was completely paralyzed except for his left eye, could only make minimal head movements, and was unable to speak. He worked with a team of speech pathologists to create a partner-assisted scanning system to communicate by blinking his left eye to identify letters on the scanning system. With this system, Jean-Dominique was able to tell his story in The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, a novel that was published in 1997 and has since become a major motion picture. It reportedly took an average of two minutes to translate each word, and a total of about 200,000 blinks to complete the novel!

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech, a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler, tells the story of King George VI who struggled to overcome his fluency disorder in a very public arena. He enlisted speech pathologist Lionel Logue to help him improve his speech. As a result of his efforts with Mr. Logue, King George VI gave a radio address in September 1929, announcing England’s declaration of war with Nazi Germany. His historic speech was powerful and fluent. The King’s Speech went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.

Seeing how communication disorders affect the lives of adults in the media can provide a sense of community and a sense of hope to individuals and their families who experience communication disorders in their day-to-day lives. We encourage you to watch and enjoy these films!

If you, or an adult you know, are struggling with communication, contact us to find out more about how we can assist you.

References

Grunstein, P. (Producer), Lemley, J. (Producer), & Schnabel, J. (Director). (2008). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) [Motion picture]. France: Pathé Renn Productions.

Egan, S. (Producer), Unwin, G. (Producer), & Hooper, T. (Director). (2010). The King’s Speech [Motion picture]. United States of America: See Saw Films.