2024 Mental Health Essay Contest Awardee: Gold
Let’s CHAT: Mental Health Impact on Teens Living with Speech Challenges
Raphael, Hawaii
Nearly everyone has experienced being tongue-tied. We try to engage in conversation, but the words come out wrong or not at all. Now, imagine being a teenager who always feels tongue-tied and the mental anguish that follows. This is how I felt in 2021. While searching for support groups for teens with speech challenges, I discovered there was no such group in my entire state. So, I founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, CHATS: Caring for Hawaii Teens with Speech Challenges. In speaking with fellow stutterers and others who had been teased, bullied, and mocked due to their communication differences, I began to realize the correlation between the societal treatment of those with speech challenges and the emotional scars it leaves. This ripple of abuse needed to stop. That was the moment I decided to be the change. In partnering with Mental Health America of Hawaii and Spill the Tea Café, a local mental health clinic for youth, I would spread a message of inclusiveness, anti-bullying, and mental wellness.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (2010), approximately 18.5 million Americans have a communication disorder, yet many know little about it. Lack of knowledge and the inability to understand leads to the fabrication of myths and misconceptions. These false beliefs negatively affect the mental well-being of those who have trouble communicating, especially teens and young children. According to Mental Health America, youth with speech differences are five times more likely to be bullied. Youth with a speech challenge, such as a stutter, are 61% more likely to be targeted by a bully. As a result, these targeted youth have an increased likelihood of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideations. Shame, discrimination, avoidance, lack of access to clinicians, and undiagnosed speech challenges can be a barrier to those seeking therapy. Through CHATS, I am working to bridge the gap between youth and the medical help they need and deserve.
As the first in my community to tackle the topic concerning the mental health of teens with speech challenges, I partnered with local speech and mental health organizations and spoke within the community. I filmed a video that aired on PBS Hawaii called “A Safe Place for Youth.” It featured CHATS partner, Spill the Tea Café, and highlighted the clinic’s innovative and welcoming approach to individual and group therapy. I was the youngest of four panelists on INSIGHTS PBS Hawaii: Mental Health of Hawaii’s Teens. INSIGHTS is Hawaii’s second most-watched locally produced program on PBS Hawaii. On INSIGHTS, I gave my perspective, as well as those of my peers, on the topics of bullying, anxiety, mental health, as well as my work with CHATS. To stress the importance of mental health, I, alongside CHATS partner Mental Health America of Hawaii, visited neighborhood schools to talk about anti-bullying and acceptance for those with communicational differences and to offer help and resources to those who felt alone. I spoke to a crowd of concertgoers at a Martin Luther King Jr. event, sat on the 2022 Hawaii State Children and Youth Summit panel to stress the importance of state legislature to do more to help our youth, and hosted family meet-and-greets. I was able to speak with over 1,700 students, parents, educators, and medical health professionals. I have reached thousands of households through television, printed periodicals, and online sources, spreading a message of awareness and inclusivity.
Reaching out to the local community, I needed a multi-teared approach. I formed a team that includes mental health advocates, educators, youth coordinators, parents, teens, government officials, and speech and language pathologists. Members of my team and I have made an educational video for schools about speech challenges and mental health. These videos enable teachers to share this information multiple times within multiple grade levels. Speech and language pathologists who support the Hawaii Department of Education are speaking with me to discuss ways to be better stewards for CHATS. Speech therapists and pediatricians are encouraging their young patients to seek out social support through CHATS. Our teen support group meets once a month where we share and help each other in a safe environment. Future plans include a six-week series addressing different aspects of speech challenges; psychological and social. The series will feature guest speakers and will involve both teens and their parents.
Taking action in my community has inspired others to advocate for CHATS as well. For example, a 100-year-old World War II veteran living with a stutter heard about CHATS. I had the privilege of meeting with him where I learned about his difficult life journey through stuttering. Overjoyed with the work CHATS is doing he volunteered as a guest speaker to encourage others who may be struggling. A teen CHATS member with a cleft palate decided to start her own CHATS fan club in her school. We have gained a teen base of volunteers who attend CHATS community events, speak to attendees about the problem, and discuss the solution. A faculty member at a local school has invited me to return to impact more students. Also, the medical community invited me as a guest speaker for the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Grand Rounds Presentations (a sort of TED Talk for doctors, nurses, interns, students, etc.) and to present a talk for Behavioral Health ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes). I presented to hundreds of psychiatrists, pediatricians, speech and language pathologists, and those involved with the overall well-being of our youth. The co-founder of Camp Ohana Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth in Africa, has agreed to partner with us to provide resources and therapy to kids in Kenya.
Through awareness and education, we can break the walls of misconception to create a society that views those with speech and communication differences with normalcy and acceptance. This will empower youth to raise their voice and teach the community to listen. It all starts with a conversation.
NIH recognizes these talented essay winners for their thoughtfulness and creativity in addressing youth mental health. These essays are written in the students' own words, are unedited, and do not necessarily represent the views of NIH, HHS, or the federal government.
Page published May 31, 2024
