Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

A&S Speech Disorders Professor: Poet Amanda Gorman’s Story Shares Important Lesson

Monday, January 25, 2021, By Daryl Lovell
Share
Amanda GormanGebbie Clinicspeech disorders

National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Amanda Gorman, captured the world’s attention this month after she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 2021 inauguration ceremonies. While her performance took people’s breath away, she revealed during a media interview that she previously suffered from a speech disorder and auditory processing disorder that made it challenging for her to pronounce and hear certain sounds.

Dr. Jonathan Preston is the director of the Speech Production Lab and an associate professor of communications sciences and disorders at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences. He specifically focuses on causes of and treatments for speech sound disorders, such as persisting articulation errors and childhood apraxia of speech. He says speaking strategies that Gorman attributes her success to, such as reciting poetry or rapping, can be helpful to solidify clear speech production.

Preston says:

“Amanda Gorman is a great example of a person with much to say, but who might not have always been understood. She describes her speech disorder has having difficulty saying certain sounds, including ‘r’. She has clearly overcome this challenge with hard work and the help of a speech-language pathologist, a professional who can help individuals figure out how to make certain speech sounds (to say ‘r’ lift up the front of your tongue, lower the back of your tongue, but keep the sides up in the back – it’s complicated!).

“Strategies such as poetry or rapping may be helpful to solidify clear productions once a person has learned the underlying articulatory movements of a sound. As Amanda states, repeating a song from Hamilton which is loaded with ‘r’ words helped her to rehearse the coordinated movements for clear speaking.”

 

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Marketing and Communications

T 315.443.1184   M 315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu | @DarylLovell

The Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., 4th Fl., Syracuse, NY 13202
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu

Syracuse University

  • Author

Daryl Lovell

  • Recent
  • Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review
    Saturday, February 27, 2021, By Robert Conrad
  • Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Jennifer Russo
  • Activities for the Weekend of Feb. 25-28
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By News Staff

More In Health & Society

CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes

The Department of Higher Education in the School of Education is expanding their curriculum offerings to prepare current and future higher education professionals (e.g., advisors, administrators and coaches) to learn how to support and advocate for the success of intercollegiate…

Boost Your Immune System With These Expert Tips (and Recipes!)

A healthy immune system is important throughout the year, but even more so during cold and flu season and while we remain at-risk of contracting COVID-19. In honor of National Nutrition Month, celebrated in March, we tapped into campus experts…

Application Deadline Approaching: Five Reasons to Be a Barnes Center at The Arch Peer Educator

The deadline to apply to be a Barnes Center at The Arch Peer Educator for the 2021-22 academic year is Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, and all students are encouraged to submit an application. Students who are interested in applying for…

CRS Professor’s New Book Focuses on the Rhetoric of Antisemitism

Amos Kiewe, a professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies (CRS), has authored the new book, “The Rhetoric of Antisemitism: From the Origins of Christianity and Islam to the Present” (Lexington Books). It…

Spring 2021: Barnes Center at The Arch Services and Hours; Virtual Recreation Jan. 30–Feb. 4   

As the Spring 2021 semester begins, the Barnes Center at The Arch announces hours, services and more surrounding holistic health and well-being. Visit the Stay Safe: Barnes Center at The Arch webpage for information surrounding how to access services, resources…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.