Jumping out from planes and helicopters sounds scary to most. It doesn’t even phase 29-year-old paratrooper Lance Lambert, who in Iraq completed two tours of duty. What terrifies Lambert the most is reading bedtime stories to his 6-year-old daughter Avery every night.
Lambert has combatted a severe stutter since he began speaking. As long as he can remember, Lambert has been in speech therapy and was even required to enroll in an intensive stuttering therapy program by the Army. He’s learned what triggers his stutter and often avoids words with certain sounds, especially the letter “S.”
But as a single father, bedtime story duty falls on his shoulders, and when reading aloud, he has no control over what words he’ll have to say next. Bedtime stories became even more important to this father and daughter after Lambert discovered that Avery was falling behind in reading at school. Not wanting to disappoint his daughter, Lambert uses the stories as an opportunity to work through his stutter while bettering Avery’s reading.
Lambert gained Internet fame after an 11-minute video of him reading Aladdin to his daughter went viral. He initially filmed the bedtime story to share with his family and friends on Facebook. Lambert, now a full-time student at a community college, was required to take public speaking and had previously posted a video of a speech he had given. Someone commented on the post, telling him that his stutter didn’t sound that bad. He wanted his Facebook friends to see how he grapples daily with his stutter, so he posted the bedtime story video.
After an overwhelming response, Lambert was encouraged to share the video on YouTube, in hopes that it would inspire others who battle stutters. In the video, he can be seen struggling to read as his daughter Avery, tucked in bed, watches intently. She even chimes in, aiding him on the more difficult words, before drifting off to sleep.
Lambert worries that his daughter is embarrassed by his stutter, but Avery has made it apparent that it doesn’t bother her. He told The Today Show, “I’ve said to her, ‘I’m sorry you have a dad who stutters,’ and she said, ‘I don’t care, Dad. It’s fine,’ and I started crying—I don’t cry!”
Avery added, “I love him and he’s good at reading. He gives me everything I need and takes me to school and gives me lot of kisses—and chicken nuggets.”
Lambert’s video has gained major attention with over 90,000 views and has caught the eye of major media outlets, such as Good Housekeeping, People Magazine, The Today Show, Inside Edition, and the Ellen Show. While Lance Lambert still struggles daily with his stutter he feels that his college public speaking course and the response to his bedtime story video has given him more confidence to speak out loud.
Article via Woman’s Day
