My name is Derrick. I am from Kenya and an accountant by profession. I started stuttering as young as I can remember. As I started going to school, I was subjected to bullying from other pupils. When I joined high school, we were required to learn set books during our literature class, this learning required every student to read aloud every paragraph. This was impossible for me, so, sometimes I dodged this literature classes since they were embarrassing me hence, causing me to fail English tests since they usually included literature.
I then joined University and things were difficult because here there was group work presentations, projects and Thesis that needed to be presented before lecturers, I usually fumbled, stuttered and humiliated myself while doing this.
When I finished University, I got a job at a sales company as a sales agent. This job required me to make phone calls and convince clients to take loans with us since it was a company that used to sell loans to civil servants. I sometims stumbled upon my words and some clients just hung up on me.
I then told myself I must deal with this once and for all. I then started looking for a solution all over the Internet and the information that I got was that stuttering is incurable. I then found a certain therapist from Russia who had never stuttered but she had high charges for her services that I couldn’t afford.
One day I found a Tedtalk on you tube, there was a certain stutterer who was talking about the challenges he has been facing as a stammerer and he had finally overcame it. I then perused the comment section of that Ted talk I found a comment from a certain guy who said that he read lee’s book (How to stop stuttering and love speaking) and it had helped him a great deal.
I was curious about the book and I went to Amazon kindle and bought it. I started reading the book and I felt that it provided me answers and solutions that I was looking for.
The crutches, self-affirmations and self-hypnosis helped me improve my speech a great deal. I also attended SAM Meetings at World Stop Stuttering Academy on Saturdays and even some Practice Sessions with others like mean, all working together to overcome stuttering.
All I want to to say is Thank-you to coach Lee, WSSA and its community of ex-stutterers for helping me. My life and speech has changed since finding your book and getting into your program. I’m finally not stuttering. I am so grateful to be fluent.
DERRICK, Kenya, Africa