"We have a voice. We have been heard!" David Seidler said when he accepted his Oscar for Best Screenplay at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday.
The King's Speech triumphed at the 83rd Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler). It was also a great triumph for the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine's Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR), its speech-language pathologists, staff and all of its clients worldwide.
Each individual who struggled with stuttering and overcame it could relate to King George VI's story.
"Recently a father of a now adult man thanked us for 'giving his son his life back' because we treated his son's stutter. What an honour it is to be able to do that in our work," said Marilyn Langevin, acting executive director of ISTAR.
Langevin and clients of ISTAR hosted an Oscar Party to cheer on The King's Speech. Each time the movie won an award, it was as if they had won too.
"Congratulations to The King's Speech for giving those who stutter a voice," Langevin said at the party. "There is so much more to our voices than just the sound. With our voices we share who we are, what we think, what we feel and it is just so beautiful when one shares who they truly are!"
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and SLP students from the University of Alberta were also ecstatic. Some shared their sentiments via the microblog Twitter. "Props to the King's Speech for their wins tonight! Speechies [SLPs] everywhere are rejoicing!" @misssable (Sable Chan, U of A SLP student) tweeted Sunday night.
As The King's Speech continues to draw audiences to the box office, Langevin thanks Seidler, Hooper, and of course, Firth, for their hard work and what they've done for children, teens and adults who stutter worldwide.
"I thought it was brilliant when Colin Firth thanked David Seidler for sharing his beautiful voice and for Seidler to accept the award on behalf of people who stutter around their world," Langevin beamed.
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About The Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR)
The Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) is a self-funded institute in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. Our mission is to serve people of all ages who stutter, through excellence in treatment, clinical research, clinical training, and public education. We are grateful to our donors, without whom we would not be able to provide affordable treatment or achieve our mission.
About the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
As the only free standing faculty of rehabilitation in Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine balances its activities among learning, discovery and citizenship (including clinical practice). A research leader in musculoskeletal health, spinal cord injuries and common spinal disorders (back pain), the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine aims to improve the quality of life of citizens in our community. The three departments, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPA) offer professional entry programs. The Faculty offers thesis-based MSc and PhD programs in Rehabilitation Science, attracting students from a variety of disciplines including OT, PT, SLP, psychology, physical education, medicine and engineering.