The One-to-One Speech Course For Stuttering
April 9, 2011 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
Have you a spare five or ten minutes for a chat Mum? Of course Steve, are you OK? Not really this speech impediment is starting to ruin my life. The speech therapy that I have been attending for the last thirteen years is just not working. I need a different form of treatment, a different approach as it were; will you help me to locate something? Is there any specialist stuttering course out there which could help me to achieve fluency?
The above conversation took place when I was around eighteen years of age. As you can no doubt tell I had had enough of living life with this most frustrating of speech impediments and was desperate to find a solution. My parents were superb and searched high and low for a suitable stuttering treatment program but unfortunately they could not ultimately locate the answers that we were all looking for. This happened to be 17 yrs ago; fortunately therapy for stammering and stuttering has improved some what since then.
There are now numerous forms of stuttering treatment available some of which are specialist. A very recent report highlighted that the most popular of these options and also the most beneficial is the one-to-one stuttering course, a course which is run by a former stutterer.
The report also suggested that there is an ever increasing demand for a home-based stuttering therapy program; or what is commonly referred to as a self-help stuttering therapy program. These are where people learn the stuttering cure techniques by watching a DVD, or by listening to an audio book or by reading a booklet or e-book.
With the home based/self-help therapy products there is often an ongoing support service which enables people to interact with the stuttering specialist to ensure maximum results (fluency). This is an essential back up which often comes at no additional cost. If this continued support network is not on offer then it would be advisable to find an alternative stuttering solution.
Self-Esteem Advice
One day when I was around my early to mid twenties, I went to the hairdressers for my monthly trim. This woman enquired about whether I had heard about the tragic car crash that had recently occured. I had not heard of any crashes and therefore she started to tell me about the horrible accident.
Three young men who were all aged twenty-two, were on the way for an evening in the local public house. One of the men was speeding and was unable to keep control of the car. His vehicle had then careered straight into a large tree, all three of the people in the car had died at the scene.
She continued that one of the men which had died, had worked in the butchers, which was only two doors away from her shop. She described the man in question, which turned out to be a person that I knew, just to say hello to. This was a person I would walk past on the majority of mornings and we would say a quick hello to each other.
Later on when I was at home, I started to think even more about this particular person. Even though he was friendly, he always looked quite stressed and did not seem that happy. My guess is that he would have perhaps been more care-free and positive had he known that he did not have long to live.
It should not have taken this kind of tragedy to bring me to my senses, but it did. Morbid as it is I pondered on the thought that we all have to die at some stage and that none us know when that day will come. I am sorry if that is a bit morbid, but it is true. Not all of us will live until retirement age and our lives could end tomorrow.
I have always been a bit of a worrier; mainly about my speech I suppose as I had a stuttering speech impediment. I did eventually manage to gain fluency via an intensive one-to-one stuttering therapy course but even then I started to worry about business; I work for a composite door company and for a business cost reduction specialist on a part time basis.
I now have learnt to stop stressing so much – life, I have now learnt, is just too short.
The Importance Of Stuttering Therapies
The importance of communication is well known; whether it be communication in the workplace, in a social environment or within the home, to be able to communicate with others in a fluid and cohesive manner is vital. So what about those people in the community who have a speech impediment and who therefore are unable to speak in a fluent way for this reason? Can you imagine just how difficult it is for people who stutter to succeed in business and life?
I was one such person, yes I had a stutter, in fact I had one for eighteen years of my life. Life back then (I have enjoyed the last thirteen years being able to talk fluently) was tough and what made it even more difficult to bear was the fact that people had no idea as to what I was going through. There was certainly a lack of care, or at least it seemed that way.
In my early twenties I was working for a rather large financial corporation in the UK. I had a rather basic role within the organization however was often appalled at the lack of communication skills within the higher management. These people were able to speak free from any form of speech impediment yet chose not to. This was of massive frustration to many of the staff but especially to myself for obvious reasons. It was as if they could not be bothered to pass on information or to advise of the changes within the business, verbally or via e-mail.
Having a stutter in the workplace was quite an experience; you certainly get to know who your real friends are. Stuttering, or stammering as some people call it, nearly ruined my life however I did eventually manage to achieve fluency.
I have two pieces of advice for the readers of this article; firstly to the people who have a stutter – do not give up – if I can overcome my stutter then there is no reason why you can’t overcome yours. Secondly to the higher management of businesses – poor communication skills can often lead to lower profits therefore start communicating!
I now run a five day stuttering cure speech course. The courses are based in Birmingham, England.