A stutter is like a snowflake, each one is different, is a common expression within the stuttering community.

Its true! There are severe stutters, and slight stuttersand everything in between. Some people are open about their stutter while others prefer to keep it a private matter. Some like to talk about it, or even laugh about it, while others find the whole thing an embarrassment or depressing. If you take a survey of the more than 70 million people across the globe who stutter, a tranche would tell you they wished it could be cured with a magic pilland others would say they would keep it forever, because it is as much a part of them as their right arm.

The Stuttering Foundation is celebrating its 70th year of bringing hope, inspiration and support to those who stutter around the world. Founded by automobile parts magnate Malcolm Fraser in 1947, Fraser took an initial deposit of $2,500 and planted the seeds of a foundation that today reaches millions of people in more than 135 countries around the world.

Just like the individuality of the stutter, each persons needs are unique as well, said Foundation President Jane Fraser. Thats why we offer something for everyone.

Some things have changed in the last seven decades, yet much has remained the same. Social media, for example, has helped the Foundation to reach an even greater portion of the stuttering community.

Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , YouTube and Pinterest help us connect with a global community of people who stutter, added Fraser. Its so important for us to reach people in need wherever they live using whatever medium we can.

Renowned for its informative literature, the Stuttering Foundation offers a raft of information in the form of books, pamphlets, brochures, workbooks, fact sheets, posters and videos. Over the years, it has sent materials to millions whove written in and called the toll-free hotline. Thousands of libraries across the U.S. still shelve items that are checked out by patrons every year. And now, digitized content for download and sharing is available on its website, www.StutteringHelp.org , and can be accessed free of charge in dozens of languages 24-hours a day.

Learning how to help yourself should be the goal of every stutterer, said Malcolm Fraser in his seminal book Self-Therapy for the Stutterer , in 1978 --now in its 11th edition. The Stuttering Foundation makes it possible for anyone, anywhere to get some form of help for free.