The One-to-One Speech Course For Stuttering
April 9, 2011 by admin
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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.
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.
Self-Help Stammering Therapy Products
It is believed that as much as one in every hundred adults in the UK have a stammer or stutter. I would guess that the majority of these people have attempted to overcome the speech impediment at some stage of their life. This is what they may have found:
Traditional speech therapy
Speech therapy is where the majority of people who stutter will start when trying to improve their speech. I myself, attended speech therapy from the age of five, I continued attending until the age of eighteen. All of this therapy and I will still stuttering; it was obviously working then!
The advice I had been given at speech therapy was basically:
speak slowly
take a deep breath before you speak
accept your stutter
I am sorry but that advice is just not good enough.
Group stuttering speech courses
There are now a number of private speech courses that offer stuttering/stammering help and are run on a group basis. In my opinion these are of more value than traditional speech therapy as at least the aim of the course is to eradicate the stutter. Speech therapy is more of controlling and accepting the stutter.
One to one speech courses
There are also one to one speech courses available. I personally believe that this is the best form of stuttering therapy as each person will have their own individual stutter and needs.
Stuttering self help dvd and ebook
For people who would prefer a self help form of stuttering therapy, there are now stuttering dvds and ebooks available. Whichever form of stop stuttering treatment you choose it is essential that you work hard to practice the techniques.
With regards to the practice it is without doubt that the more the merrier is the way to go. There is a speech centre in the UK which is called The How To Stop Stuttering Centre and this is some where that people can obtain a set of stuttering cure techniques that work.
Think Positive To Have A Positive Life
I am a person who has often felt unhappy with the hand of cards that I have been dealt; especially when going through the teenage years. Many people commented at how down and depressed I often would be.
You may be wondering what my troubles were. I developed a speech impediment when I was just a young boy. Stuttering put a huge dent in my confidence and made me withdraw into my shell.
I had a weight problem which was mainly caused by comfort eating when I was depressed. For whatever reason I have a small area on my scalp, the size of a small coin, where I am basically bald – this has been the source of amusement for many of my work class mates and work colleagues in the past. I was always the shortest person in the class and for a male I am well below the average height at five-foot four. I have struggled in my career originally working in a pgd clinic however I am now doing well selling external doors.
At the age of eighteen, I was having a conversation with one of friends who is called John. John was one of the people I had always been jealous of for many different reasons. On this particular evening we were both fairly drunk and John had became quite emotional. During our conversation he told me that his father was an alcoholic and that at certain times when he arrived home worse for wear that he would hit his mom. He was very worried about this and was not sure what to do.
I have learnt that we all have problems and that in most cases there is always people worse off than ourselves. I now try to think in a much more positive way and am very happy with the cards I have been dealt.
Think Positive To Have A Positive Life
I am a person who has often felt unhappy with the hand of cards that I have been dealt; especially when going through the teenage years. Many people commented at how down and depressed I often would be.
You may be wondering what my troubles were. I developed a speech impediment when I was just a young boy. Stuttering put a huge dent in my confidence and made me withdraw into my shell.
I had a weight problem which was mainly caused by comfort eating when I was depressed. For whatever reason I have a small area on my scalp, the size of a small coin, where I am basically bald – this has been the source of amusement for many of my work class mates and work colleagues in the past. I was always the shortest person in the class and for a male I am well below the average height at five-foot four. I have struggled in my career originally working in a pgd clinic however I am now doing well selling external doors.
At the age of eighteen, I was having a conversation with one of friends who is called John. John was one of the people I had always been jealous of for many different reasons. On this particular evening we were both fairly drunk and John had became quite emotional. During our conversation he told me that his father was an alcoholic and that at certain times when he arrived home worse for wear that he would hit his mom. He was very worried about this and was not sure what to do.
I have learnt that we all have problems and that in most cases there is always people worse off than ourselves. I now try to think in a much more positive way and am very happy with the cards I have been dealt.
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.
Stuttering, Weight Problems And A Bald Patch – Not A Good Start!
May 7, 2010 by admin
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There were a range of things which impacted upon my overall self-confidence and self-esteem levels as I grew from being a young child to a man. These included:
A small patch on my scalp which was bald
A speech impediment known as a stutter
A weight problem, I was basically too fat
I am quite short at five foot four
Certain people I met would be quite nasty and would try to make fun of me. I tried really hard to ensure that these nasty people did not affect me however I must admit that there were many a time when I would shed a tear. Life at times was quite tough especially where I worked at the company offering dog insurance.
Aged 22 I decided to do something about this pathetic way of living – I needed to become a real man – I needed to become strong and far more care-free. I decided I needed a big change in attitude and started to read books about life and about positive thinking etc.
These were the things I had to take on board:
It is not important what other people think of you, it is what you think that counts
You need to start to like yourself
There are various things about your person, you do not like but which you can not change. You therefore have to start accepting these things and realising that maybe there are other people in life who are more unfortunate than you.
You need to have respect for yourself
Only accept the best from life
Be happy
I tried hard to implement this advice and even though it was not easy to change, I knew I had to. I basically live life to the full now and try not to worry about anything trivial. I have also managed to eradicate the stammering problem.
I have now become a successful external doors salesman and my life is now much happier overall.
I hope this article will be of benefit to the people who read it.
How To Gain Confidence
May 5, 2010 by admin
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So what were the reasons behind my own low confidence? Well there were 5 reasons. I had developed a stutter when I was aged just four and despite a great deal of speech and language therapy it was still a major problem for me. I was desperate, for some unknown reason, to be liked and was basically paranoid about what other people thought of me. Height wise I am quite a lot shorter than the average man at just 5ft 4 and I also have a small patch, the size of ten pence piece, on my scalp where no hair grows. I was also over-weight.
At the age of twenty-two I decided to go on a journey of self-improvement. I had just lost my job at the flyer printing company where I worked and had had enough of living life in the way that I had been and I therefore wanted to learn about the ways in which I could become a far more confident person, a fluent speaker and I wanted to attain a weight that I was happy with.
The solution to the weight loss was in a way quite easy to find. I was over-weight due to a lack of exercise and because I ate far too much, along with the fact that I was eating the wrong types of food.
Stuttering is a complex impediment but was something I was determined to overcome. It was far from easy to eradicate the stutter however eradicate it I did after about twelve months of working extremely hard.
I unfortunately had to accept my lack of height and also the fact that I would have a bald patch on my head for the rest of my life as there was nothing that I could do to change them.
The wanting to be liked and my paranoid ways was something that could be changed. I had to learn how to become a far more care-free person and to accept that not everyone will like me. I had to become a positive thinker and to ignore the negative voices in my head.
I have now mastered all of these areas and life has never been so good; my new found confidence has helped me in my new career as a pet insurance clerk.
I wish you every success in your quest to find happiness.
Please Help Me – I Have Demons In My Head
I am sure that I am not alone in the fact that I have a large army of demons in my head. The voices in my head were full of advice about how to react in certain situations. I listened to these demonic voices in my head for far too long. Why? Perhaps it was because I did not have a lot of self-confidence and they certainly preyed on that fact.
At the age of four, I developed a stutter which would continue to affect my speech for the next eighteen years of my life. I was aware of what I could and could not say and was also aware of the social situations in which I was more likely to stutter.
If I was asked a question by for example a friend, I would think of the answer but before I would have a chance to say it, a voice would appear. This voice or what I call my demons would advise me not to say that word and to substitute it for a different word. I was desperate to receive some form of stuttering help.
At one stage in my life, I decided that I wanted a career change as I was not happy working at the DVD authoring company any more. The voices suddenly spoke up once again – do you really want to go through all of the hassle of finding a new job, with the interviews etc? Just stay where you are Steve – the grass is always greener and all that. They continued that I had always struggled to talk fluently at interviews, due to the pressure factor.
I could not continue to live life this way – I had to make a major change in the way that I lived and approached life. After reading many self-help books, I realised what I had been doing wrong. I should not be listening to these demons, in fact what I need to do is the opposite of what they tell me. Steve don’t go to that party, OK then I will. Steve don’t phone that lady up, OK I will, etc.
I am not trying to say that this is easy to do. I am happy to say that I have eradicated my speech demons and am now fluent, however I do still have demons in other areas of my life. I am now run my own SEO company and I am at peace for the first time in my life.
Potentially The Best Way To Cure Shyness
April 19, 2010 by admin
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There were many reasons as to why I was a shy person. Each and every member of my family seem to be forever worrying about something – it really is quite bizarre. The majority of us basically have the wrong attitude to life; I am not really sure why this is but the result has been detrimental to our quality of life.
I also grew up having to cope with a stammering problem which as you can imagine did not help my own confidence levels and only added to what was already the difficult task of mixing with other people. I did eventually manage to achieve fluency and to stop stuttering but only after suffering with the speech impediment for eighteen years.
I now help people to overcome stammering, I also provide cat insurance as well as offering a cheap poster printing service.
I have to say that I always preferred to be by myself and was what many people saw as a loner. When I am on my own nobody can hurt me and I was also in no danger of stuttering. The weird aspect was that inside I was a very confident person who was desperate to show the world, the real Steve Hill.
Being shy made it difficult for me to form relationships with women and made my work life also more of a choir.
At the age of around twenty-one I decided to attempt to overcome my shyness once and for all. I had to understand the real reasons behind why I was shy and to deal with each one in turn. I asked myself many questions such as:
Why are you scared of people? This was because I had a fear of not being accepted or liked. They may hurt me by being aggressive towards me or by taunting me about my speech etc. This was me being paranoid, so I decided that if I don’t try, I won’t know.
Why are you afraid of socialising? This was because I did not feel that I had a lot to say and believed people would think I was boring. At the end of the day I realised that all I can do in life is to try and best and this is exactly what I did.
What are the reasons for your lack of courage in talking to the ladies? This was because I thought that they would only tell me to go away and that they would not be interested in me. Yet again, if I do not try, how will I know.
I have now come to realise that out of ten people I meet, three of four of them might not like me, but that means there are six who will. There is no place in this short life to be constantly down and depressed. I have to battle against my shyness and break free of it once and for all.
I now have more confidence than I ever have had. I still have periods where I become shy but these are becoming less and less as time goes by.