The Stresses And Struggles Of A Stammerer
I would hazard a guess that the majority of people stress about one thing or another. This stress may be caused by worrying about money, work, relationships, health, family, holidays, moving house or many other daily issues. For certain people who live life with a stuttering problem, stress can have an altogether different meaning. It is not only the above that people who have a stammer/stutter have to contend with. Simple every day tasks of which fluent people take for granted can prove very difficult.
I will take as an example a young man who is eighteen years of age, I will call him Peter. Peter has had a problem with his speech for as long as he can remember and has what is known as stuttering or stammering. Despite attending regular speech therapy classes, Peter has continued to be affected by this form of speech impediment and is starting to become very concerned about the future.
To start with Peter is concerned about his present and also his long term career prospects. He worries that quite a lot of employers may be reluctant to employ somebody who has a speech impediment and even if he is able to gain employment he worries about how he will cope in the workplace when he is unable to talk fluently. Routine tasks such as answering the telephone, having a conversation with a colleague, having a meeting with his team leader are things that cause Peter a lot of stress. As you can no doubt tell Peter is somewhat struggling with his anxieties even before he has found employment – how will he cope when he manages to secure a position within a company.
Peter also stresses about love and marriage. He is yet to have a girlfriend, which he puts down to his lack of overall confidence and ability to chat them up. He would however dearly love to meet a woman with whom he could call his own girlfriend but worries that no girl/woman would want to date somebody who has a stutter.
For people out there who are stressed about something, spare a thought for people who stutter as they have probably got it a whole lot worse than you. It can be quite difficult to stop stuttering where as stress management is all in the mind.
Intensive One To One Speech Course For Stuttering
So you have realised that speech therapy is doing very little to improve your fluency and have now decided to seek an alternative form of stuttering therapy, but what options are available for people who have this form of speech impediment?
By the age 18 I could not take anymore and decided to fight back against my stuttering demons. I felt let down by the system, by the lack of understanding of the problems that I was having to face on a daily basis, surely there must be some treatments for stuttering out there that is better than this.
All of this happened fully 17 yrs ago prior to the birth of the internet. I started my search to find a cure for stuttering by visiting my local library, unfortunately this proved to be a waste of time. I then looked in my local yellow pages and also went to see my local doctor but again it was as if there was not a person or therapist which specialised in the treatments for stuttering. Why is there no-one who really cares out there?
With the aid of the world wide web it has now become a lot easier for people to find suitable therapies for stuttering and stammering. They are able to find the latest therapies for stuttering by doing a simple search on one of the major search engines, such as Google, I sure wish that this had been an option for me all those years ago.
Options in stop stuttering therapy include speech therapy courses run by people who have managed to overcome a stutter. These are normally held on a group basis however there are one-to-one stuttering courses out there, these are the most popular and beneficial but they can have long waiting lists due to this popularity.
Attending a speech course is not suitable to everyone and for people who are unable to attend such a course there are a number of powerful and beneficial self-help stuttering products on the market.
Stutter Therapy Classes
March 14, 2010 by admin
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There are many types of stutter therapy including stutter cure courses or traditional speech therapy. I have overcome a stutter and in this article I describe what it is like to be fluent for me.
I am now able to order food and drink for example, without fear of a stutter, speak on the telephone and am able to enjoy socialising. As you may well imagine life is far easier for me now that I have achieved total fluency – the freedom it provides is amazing. I appreciate my speech compared with the average fluent person, who does not realise how lucky they are. Some would even say that I talk too much, but this is something I will never apologise for – when I had a stutter I hardly spoke at all.
As a person with a stutter, I seemed to accept second best. I left school because of the stutter, dated girls which to be truthful, not only did I not feel attracted to, but did not particularly find interesting. My stuttering mind convinced me that I could do no better. I was unhappy where I worked, but just accepted it; I did not feel able to put myself through the interview process again.
I now run The Stop Stammering Centre where I run one-to-one stuttering help courses to help people to achieve fluency. As well as these courses I also offer a variety of self-help options including the ever popular seventy minute DVD, an audio book and an e-book. All of these self-help options include full descriptions of the techniques which I successfully used to overcome my own speech impediment.
I am more than happy to answer any questions that you may have therefore please feel free to contact me.
I look forward to helping you to overcome your speech impediment.
Stephen Hill from The How To Stop Stammering Centre
Successful Stuttering And Stammering Treatments
March 12, 2010 by admin
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So what types of therapies are there for people who have a stammer/stutter? Well there are many, some good and some not so good. In this article I will describe some of the experiences and types of stuttering or stammering therapy people experiment with.
One of the first places people go to when seeking help for a speech impediment is speech therapy. So how long did you attend speech therapy for? Well the answer quite strangely is 13 years. Why is this strange? Because you would have thought that I would have realised that it was not working after only a couple of years. Now I am sure some people have some very positive experiences and results from this type of therapy, however I was not one of these people. From what I remember the main advice I was given was to slow down my speech and to take a deep breath before starting to speak. When I observed fluent people speaking, I rarely heard them take a deep breath.
Then there is the more alternative forms of health therapy for stuttering/stammering which includes hypnosis. This was something I really wanted to try for myself at the age of around nineteen. Unfortunately each session cost nearly as much as my weekly wage at that point of my life. I never managed to experience this form of stammering therapy.
I now believe that stuttering is a physcological as well as a physical problem. I personally have not heard very many positive reports from the people who I know have attempted hypnotherapy as a way of stopping stammering.
The other treatments people who have a stutter try are speech courses. There are group based courses as well as the more personal 1-2-1 course. With each of these stuttering courses, the person who attends the course is required to practice the techniques to make them a natural part of their speech.
Confidence courses are another form of treatment for stuttering. In my opinion these are of value, however do not cover the physical aspects of how to eradicate a stutter.
Stuttering And Stammering Speech Therapy Courses
Over the last few years the popularity of specialised communication courses for stuttering has increased in a big way. The courses are normally held over a five-day period however there are also a two and three day option available. The courses themselves are run by a person who knows all about the subject of stammering and stuttering due to the fact that he had this type of speech impediment for eighteen years of his life before managing to achieve fluency when he was aged twenty-two.
These “stuttering courses” are held in the UK, in the second largest city of Birmingham. The How to Stop Stuttering Centre has been offering these speech courses since 1996 and Steve Hill who runs them has regularly been featured within the media during that time including a front page appearance on the much respected Daily Telegraph.
Steve has also produced a number of self-help products for the people who are not able to attend a stuttering speech course in England. These include a stuttering therapy audio book, a stuttering therapy DVD and a stuttering therapy e-book.
Steve has recently developed the “stuttering treatments via Skype”. Here people are able to receive therapy whilst watching Steve Hill on their computer screens. This abilty to watch the speech coach describe and demonstrate the techniques is of great benefit in speech pathology.
So what about the feedback for such a course? Well thus far the feedback has been extremely positive hence why there is such a demand for these types of specialist stuttering therapy courses.
A two day weekend speech course has recently been added to the list of therapy options that are available.
To achieve fluency I realised that I needed to start thinking in a much more positive manner; out went the negativity and in came a whole new “I can do it” approach. This really is the only way to go and I only regret that I did not realise this a whole lot earlier.
How To Attain Your Targets
February 2, 2010 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
About four years ago I discovered the many benefits of setting targets and goals. I thought about what I wanted to be and which course I wanted my life to take. I wrote out three different lists of my aims for the future.
The first list included what I wanted to achieve within the next twelve months. The second list contained what I wanted to achieve within five years and the third list was my lifetime goals.
One of my goals was to do with my composite front doors business. I wanted to ensure that the world would get to know about the fact that I offer affordable composite doors.
I had read that it of benefit to write any goals or targets down to ensure that one can keep focused.
Invest time and money to reach your goals
I now had a determination to succeed and was willing to work hard to achieve my goals. I was very much aware that I would have to work very hard to achieve anything in life. One of my aims was to overcome stuttering. To do this I had to learn the art of relaxation, I have always been very hard on myself and had spent most of my life worrying about things that may happen in the future. I began to become more care-free and even started to treat myself every so often. I went to see a refloxologist and a few weeks later I went to see an aromatherapist. The stutter which had affected my life since I had been a young child was eventually eradicated but only after a lot of hard work.
Avoid negative people
There are people out there who try to bring me down. They attempt to do this by off the cuff comments they make or just by the way they seem to look down on me. They look at me as If I am worthless and some kind of loser. These type of people have caused me many sleepless nights and have had a negative affect on my self-confidence.
Life is now good and my business career has now taken off and I am now working with a company who offer a cost reduction strategy which I have to say is very enjoyable.
I hope that you have found this article interesting and of benefit.
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.
I Want To Break Free From Stuttering
Mum, I could really do with your help. What is wrong Steve? It is my speech; I know I try and make out that it does not really bother me too much but this stutter is really starting to get me down. Even what the average person would class as “simple tasks” are beyond me; such as even saying my own name or answering simple questions. I find it virtually impossible to read out in front of the class without stuttering and basically I have had enough.
OK Steve, I can see how upset you are. But what about all of the help that you have been receiving at speech therapy? Are you having a laugh? It is a complete joke mum, surely you can see that. I have been going to see various speech therapists since the age of five, that is ten years now. What has been the result of all of this therapy? I am now worse than ever. So I guess you could say that speech therapy has not exactly proven to be beneficial for me. Yes I agree that the speech therapists themselves are nice enough people but they are not getting paid to be nice; they are getting paid to help people like me. The main problem being is that they just have no comprehension as to what it is like to have this form of speech impediment.
Steve, I can hear your frustration and I understand the points that you are making. I must admit my question with regards the speech therapy was rather daft – I apologise. It is now time to look for an alternative form of therapy; what we need is specialist stuttering treatment.
The above was a conversation that I had with my mother when I was aged fifteen. Stuttering at this stage of my life was no laughing matter; I was desperate to achieve fluency and I knew in my heart of hearts that my future depended on it.
Over the next few years, with the help of my supportive family, I worked extremely hard to eradicate the stutter from my life. I eventually managed to attain my life time goal of fluency when I was aged twenty-two and I have to say it was definitely worth the wait.
A Stuttering Cure
Are you looking for techniques that can help you to eradicate your stutter? Has speech and language therapy or pathology been unable to help you to the levels that you require? Is second best no longer acceptable? The above three questions are ones that I would regularly answer in the positive during the eighteen years when I had a stutter. I was constantly looking for that miracle “stuttering cure”.
Now I am fully aware to call it a stuttering cure is not exactly what some people would call the “correct English” but I basically was looking for a way or a set of techniques that could enable me to “stop stuttering”. At there time there were not that many stuttering therapies out there, or at least not ones that were worthy of the name.
I always find it strange when I read about the so called National Associations for Stuttering or Stammering. For some reason they seem to always advise people to attend local speech and language therapy. Well that is a great referral! What is the point of asking people to attend speech therapy, something that has been unable to help them in the past? Speech therapy does not work for people who stutter, well not to the levels that they desire – again to stop stuttering completely and let’s face it anything else is to accept second best.
I searched high and low in my quest to find the solutions to stuttering. I read many a book, asked many a question and studied many of the “best talkers”.
I put in a massive amount of effort, hard work and dedication as that is what is required. The majority of people are fully aware and accept that there is not one magical pill that can cure a stutter. What is required is a desire to succeed and a willingness to work hard to ensure that the techniques become second nature.
There is now a seventy-minute film which has been produced by a DVD replication company in association with The How To Stop Stuttering Centre which has full explanations of the techniques required to achieve fluency.
Communication Course To Help Improve Fluency And To Overcome Stuttering
Over the last few years the popularity of specialised communication courses for stuttering has increased in a big way. The courses are normally held over a five-day period however there are also a two and three day option available. The courses themselves are run by a person who knows all about the subject of stammering and stuttering due to the fact that he had this type of speech impediment for eighteen years of his life before managing to achieve fluency when he was aged twenty-two.
These “stuttering courses” are held in the UK, in the second largest city of Birmingham. The How to Stop Stuttering Centre has been offering these speech courses since 1996 and Steve Hill who runs them has regularly been featured within the media during that time including a front page appearance on the much respected Daily Telegraph.
Steve has also produced a number of self-help products for the people who are not able to attend a stuttering speech course in England. These include a seventy minute DVD, an audio book and an e-book.
Over the last three months a new form of therapy has been added; speech coaching for people who stutter via Skype. This is where people are able to communicate with Steve whilst also watching his responses on their computer screens. This abilty to watch the speech coach describe and demonstrate the techniques is of great benefit in speech pathology.
The feedback that has been received from the people who have attended one of the stuttering/stammering courses or who have purchased one of the self-help products has been very positive.
There is currently a three month waiting period to attend one of the three and five-day courses and for this reason Steve Hill has now commenced running a two day weekend course as well.
To achieve fluency I realised that I needed to start thinking in a much more positive manner; out went the negativity and in came a whole new “I can do it” approach. This really is the only way to go and I only regret that I did not realise this a whole lot earlier.