Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a very a rare disorder that affects school-aged children. In fact less than 3 percent and no more than 5 percent of school-aged children worldwide are affected by this problem.
Like its name suggests, APD has a lot to do with a child’s hearing. They don’t hear in the same way other kids do. They are, however, able to hear sounds that are delivered, one at a time, in a very quiet environment, which is why this ailment is usually not detected until a child is in school, with other noisy children, and a lot more going on.
Poet Amanda Gorman and her twin sister were born prematurely. It is believed that Amanda contracted the disorder when she was an infant. Yet it wasn’t discovered until she was in kindergarten, and throughout her life, she has struggled with speech problems.
Wait! Did I say “Poet?” How can that be when she articulated so well the beautiful poem she wrote and recited for the inauguration of Joseph Biden as the nation’s 46th President? Gorman recently admitted in a CNN interview that until two or three years ago, she was unable to pronounce the letter R. Yet she perfectly and fluently delivered a poem in which she said “rise” five times.
Like many people who are challenged with afflictions, Gorman chose the weakest and most dominant issue to focus on, much like individuals with prosthetic legs choose to be runners, or those without arms choose to be artists. She admits that public speaking does not come naturally, stating, “The voice I’m hearing aloud can’t pronounce Rs, can’t pronounce “sh,” it sounds a bit garbled. But I hear this strong, self-assured voice when I am reading this simple text and what that told me is the power of your inner voice over that which people might hear with their ears.”
Her mantra that has seen her through is, “The only thing that can impede me is myself.”
It seems so ironic and yet so fitting that she would be chosen to deliver her poem, “The Hill we Climb,” at the Inauguration of the President who has also struggled with speech problems from childhood.
As you watch Amanda Gorman, enjoying her wonderful way with words, knowing that she has suffered from a hearing and speech disorder since childhood, makes her performance that much more amazing, that much more remarkable.
Yet, even though the recitation of her poem, she never alluded to her impediment as one of the hills she climbs. In describing the American dream, she notes this land is where “a skinny Black girl, descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming President, only to
find herself reciting for one.” Of her speech impediment, she says, “I always saw it as a strength because since I was experiencing these obstacles in terms of my auditory and vocal skills, I became really good at reading and writing.”
She said she realized that profound truth at a young age when she was reciting to her mother the Marianne Williamson stated that, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Even in articulating her areas of focus, she does not shine a light on her hearing and speech disorder as one of those areas. Instead, she says her work “focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization as well as the African Diaspora.”
Amanda published her poetry book, The One for Whom Food is Not Enough when she was 17 years old. At the age of 18, she founded the nonprofit organization, “One Pen, One Page,” which is a youth writing and leadership program. At the age of 19, she became the first author to be featured on XQ Institute’s Book of the Month, a monthly giveaway to share inspiring Gen Z’s favorite books. She wrote a tribute for Black athletes for Nike and has a book deal with Viking Publishing to write two children’s picture books. She was the first National Youth Poet Laureate from April 2017-April 2018.
Also in 2017, she became the first youth poet to
open the literary season for the Library of Congress and she wrote In This Place: An American
Lyric for that performance, which commemorated the inauguration of Tracy K. Smith as the
22nd Poet Laureate of the United States. That the poem was acquired and displayed by the Morgan Library and Museum.
In 23 short years, Amanda Gorman has shown the world that she is more than an overcomer. In spite of her Auditory Processing Disorder, she has accomplished more than some people accomplish in a lifetime, and she still has many, many years to accomplish so much more.
Emma Young is a Chicago-based Writer and Author
