A 13-YEAR-old boy stole the hearts of Americans as he bravely spoke on the last night of the Democratic National Convention.

His speech came before Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination for president.


Biden made his acceptance speech from Wilmington, Delaware. 

Who is Brayden Harrington?

Brayden Harrington – a 13-year-old New Hampshire boy – made a memorable speech about Biden this week.

He first met Biden at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire on February 4.

It was then when Biden first gave the young teen some pointers on remembering to pause between words.

Brayden addressed the public from his home on Thursday during a virtual convention.

What did he say in his speech?

As Brayden delivered his speech, he said: “He told me that we were members of the same club.

"We stutter.”

Video of the inspiring two-minute speech has obtained more than 7.5million views on Twitter.

The courageous boy added: "It was really amazing to hear that someone like me would become vice president.

"He told me about a book of poems by Yeats he would read out loud to practice.

"He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So I did the same thing today."

What did he say about Joe Biden?

Brayden praised Biden for making him feel better about his speech disorder.

He told his audience: “I’m just trying to be a kid. And in a short amount of time, Joe Biden made me feel more confident about something that’s bothered me my whole life.

"Joe Biden cared. Imagine what he could do for all of us.

“Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to."

What did people say on Twitter?

Brayden's speech prompted widespread support from social media users.

Pam Keith, a Florida Dem nominee, tweeted: "I want to say this to Brayden Harrington (the precious young man with a stutter).

"Young, Sir: You humble me. I am in TOTAL AWE of your courage. You have a titanic spirit and unshakeable will.

"You made the worst bully look pathetic, ridiculous and so very small. I salute you."

Another Twitter user wrote: "I’m an adult who gets nervous talking to a group of 10 people I know.

"Brayden Harrington is a 13 year old struggling with a stutter who spoke to millions of people.

"I can’t even comprehend that kind of courage."

Journalist Dan Rather wrote to Twitter: "Brayden Harrington, the 13-year-old boy with a stutter.

"Pure, unvarnished, courage."

When did Joe Biden reveal he suffered from a stutter?

Last year, Biden opened up about his lifelong struggle with a speech problem.

His reveal came after Donald Trump's former press secretary appeared to mock him for stuttering.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders faced backlash after posting about the former US Vice President's delivery during Thursday's Democratic debate.

In a since-deleted tweet, Sanders wrote: “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about,” as the debate was wrapping up.

Biden had been discussing children who suffer from speech impediments when he made the stumble.

He later took to social media to talk about his battle with the speech disorder.

Biden tweeted: "I’ve worked my whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up."

What is stuttering?

Stuttering and stammering – both considered the same thing – refers to a relatively common speech problem in childhood which can persist into adulthood.

A stutter can present itself in a few ways; it can cause the person to repeat syllables, make words sound much longer or sometimes words can get stuck and not come out at all.

It can vary in its severity in different people, some who are barely affected at all while others can find the condition debilitating.

It’s hard to say what causes children to start stammering but the NHS reassures parents that it won’t be caused by anything they have done.

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According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Common Disorders, approximately three million Americans stutter.

The NIDOCD explains: "Stuttering affects people of all ages. It occurs most often in children between the ages of 2 and 6 as they are developing their language skills.

"Approximately 5 to 10 percent of all children will stutter for some period in their life, lasting from a few weeks to several years.

"Most children outgrow stuttering. Approximately 75 percent of children recover from stuttering. For the remaining 25 percent who continue to stutter, stuttering can persist as a lifelong communication disorder."

They add that the development of speech is complicated and depends on many factors and that problems can occur when parts of this developing system aren’t quite coordinated.

There are two types of stuttering, developmental and neurogenic.

Developmental stuttering is the most common type and occurs in young children while they are still learning how to talk.

Neurogenic stuttering is the type that could show up in the aftermath of astroke, head trauma, or other type of brain injury, according to the NIDCD.

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