<em>The King's Speech</em> and Me: After 6 Years of Speech Therapy, it's My Turn to Thank the Academy

(Updated with video)

As a technology journalist who covers Facebook and has interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, you'd think I would have been rooting for The Social Network to take home the Oscars for best picture, but I was instead cheering for The King's Speech. I wasn't disappointed. The film and it's star Colin Firth captured the gold.

Aside from finding the movie thoroughly enjoyable, I loved it because it reminded me of my own struggles. When I was young I had a very serious speech impediment and after six years of speech therapy, not only was I able to speak more clearly but like King George, I had more confidence in other aspects of my life.

To this day, I still have a bit of a lisp but that hasn't stopped me from doing pretty well as a radio commentator. Like King George, I was never completely cured, but thanks to an incredibly patient teacher during Middle School and High School named Mrs. Hanson, I was able to move on.

No one handed me a gold statue tonight but I still feel a lot of gratitude for the movie and it's recognition so, like tonight's winners, it's time for me to thank the Academy -- and the public school system that devoted resources to helping me overcome a disability.

Video -- Larry talks about his speech impediment & speech therapy