U.S. President Joe Biden's political career is seen by many as a disability success story a triumph over the pronounced stutter he struggled with in his youth.
In a video from a 2020 campaign event, he is heard reassuring a young boy that the speech disorder can be overcome with practice: "Don't let it define you," advised Biden.
But there is an entirely different way to look at stuttering, which affects about one per cent of Canadian adults and four per cent of children, says Joshua St. Pierre, a Canada Research Chair in Critical Disability Studies and professor of political science.