‘Don’t let your impediment define you’

Some people who stutter tend to avoid taking part in social activities, shying away from situations that require speaking in front of others.

But, for Dathan Henry, a medical sales representative and registered pharmacist, this has been the exact opposite.

Henry continues to persevere in life and has taken on the role as an advocate for others with the speech disorder, spreading the message that having confidence in oneself is crucial to overcoming any challenge.

Despite being made fun of in school during his youth because of his stuttering, and later being told that his career aspirations were simply “not the right fit” for him, his ambitions and spirit never faltered.

Overtime, he learnt how to develop a tough skin, becoming unaffected by the naysayers and insensitive people of the world.

Today he is the CEO of Great George Street Pharmacy in Westmoreland.

The 31-year-old was raised in the rural St Andrew district of Kintyre. Of his parents’ seven children, he is the only one with a speech disorder.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Henry shared that, although his father likewise stuttered, it eventually went away.

Humorously, he noted that it was believed that it was his grandmother’s efforts to treat his father’s stuttering by giving him ground water that was mixed in a mortar using a specific technique that ‘cured’ him. This ‘cure’ also supposedly worked for his uncles and their sons who stammered.

“But, honestly, my speech impediment doesn’t trouble me – y’know like some people would a say ‘oh my God, I wish I [didn’t] stutter’ or ‘I wish I was somebody else’. I’ve grown to understand that that’s what makes me, me,” he told The Gleaner.

RAISED AS A SHELTERED CHILD

Henry was raised as a sheltered child. His mother made sure that he spent most of his time at home, which fostered his love of reading. She did this, he explained, to protect him from a world that would eventually become cruel towards him because of his stutter.

As he grew older, he appreciated what his mother was protecting him from, as he was looked down on and people were impatient with him because of his stuttering.

“I remember when I was younger and Mother used to send me to the shop. Some people would want to step over me because them say me tek too long fi talk or, even at the shop, they would say next time when me come me must just write it down on a piece of paper,” he recalled.

In 2012 when Henry applied to The School of Pharmacy at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica, he was denied.

He stated that lecturers and other staff members told him that, because of his speech disorder, he was not going to be a good fit for the programme.

Determined, he reapplied and was accepted, but it required some persuasion.

“I had to tell them that I don’t have to be in a pharmacy to tell people how to take drugs. There are many other things that I can do, I can work in a drug house that makes drugs. So, you know, I had to be innovative in telling them that ‘hey, listen, you’re trying to put me into a box’ even though when we were getting accepted they told us that not everybody has to go and work in a pharmacy but, yet still, here are you telling me this,” he explained.

NOT AFRAID OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Stuttering is characterised as a disruption in the regular flow of speech. These interruptions are also referred to as stammering. Individuals who stutter are aware of what they want to say but have a hard time saying it and may repeat or stretch out a word, a syllable, a consonant or vowel sound, or they may pause during speech because they’ve reached a word or sound that’s hard to get out.

Medical studies state that stuttering can have an impact on a person’s interpersonal communication and sense of self. Moreover, it could get worse if the individual is under stress, feels hurried, self-conscious, or under pressure when speaking. As a result, some may find speaking in front of an audience or over the phone particularly challenging.

Henry, who was the guest speaker at the First Heritage Co-operative Credit Union annual scholarship awards ceremony held last month at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, told The Gleaner that he is not afraid of public speaking, but he does get anxious like the average individual.

“I was never one to have my speech impediment deter me or to define me. I’m always the one who would fight above, even though I may get a thousand and one ‘nos’. Because, at the end of the day, I always tell people that ‘you are responsible for your own life and if you don’t believe that you can do it, who else will?’” he said.

Henry is now seeking to become a speech-language pathologist – a person who treats individuals with voice, fluency, speech and language disorders. However, he will have to apply to an institution overseas to study, as it is not offered in Jamaica.

In his capacity as a medical sales representative, Henry interacts with customers and medical doctors on a regular basis. In his role as a pharmacist, he also frequently converses with customers.

According to him, some people’s prejudicial beliefs about stutterers include the notion that they should not work in “up-front jobs” or jobs that require them to interact with others, such as working as an attorney-at-law or in a bank.

“So, people expect you to be in the back, meaning, you should do some hard labour. I remember when I was seeking out a loan for the first time and I told the loan agent that I’m a pharmacist. For some reason, she didn’t believe that I’m a pharmacist and she asked me to send her a copy of my degree. When I asked her why she needs a copy of my degree, she said it was for some security purposes ... but this is how people stereotype you, they automatically think that you’re not too good,” he said.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Henry shared that people ought to have a more optimistic outlook on life and recognise that they cannot change who they are but must be determined that this will not stop them from achieving greatness.

“At the end of the day, if you do not believe in your own craft and what you think you’re capable of, nobody else will take you seriously. Do not let people push their insecurities on you, because I realise that, in life, because they cannot do it and they see you have an impediment, they automatically put it on you that you will never be able to do it as well,” he stated.

United States President Joe Biden, who also stutters, said at a town hall in New Hampshire four years ago that “stuttering, when you think about it, is the only handicap that people still laugh about”.

Biden described stuttering as “a debilitating situation”.

He went on to say that it was “critically important” for stutterers to reject the idea that their speech disorder defines who they are.

Other well-known individuals who stutter or used to stutter as a child include American actor Bruce Willis; English singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, and American singer/actor Elvis Presley.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com