My name is Jim. I’m 33 and am from London, but I work in Qatar. I began stuttering at age 3, and it grew to 90% by age 10; repeats became blocks. I stumbled on some of Lee’s crutches on my own, such as using synonyms and rephrasing or changing thoughts. I became very good at hiding my stutter. While I have now long been perceived as a fluent speaker, I have always been a covert stutterer. My primary issue has been with public speaking. The larger the group, the greater the angst.
In around 2010, I began doing extensive research online to try to find a method that actually works and that I could fully commit to do. At age 26, I found John Harrison, who, like Lee, attacks the psychological aspects of the mind and their effects on speech. I did ten Skype sessions with him, and they helped. I emerged feeling much more confident about my speech. In 2016, I found some of Lee’s videos online, which led me to his book, which I enjoyed immensely. I later read Lee’s 3rd Edition in 2019, and it was many times better than the 1st Edition. I then contacted Lee and did a half dozen Skypes with him. His combination of methods (hearing fluency via reading aloud, doing daily mind-training, and his crutches) provide powerful tools to enable one to avoid stutters in any situation. By using them, I have become confident in my ability to avoid stutters in any situation.
Fears of speaking to large groups still remain, but I plan to work on those in the ways that Lee suggests in Section 16, Post-Cure War Against Fear, of his book, including attending SAC’s speech club, SpeechAnxietyMasters and adding Toastmasters in due course.
My point is that, as I see them, Lee’s methods work, and I urge PWS to take advantage of them. Lee’s dream (of a planet without stutterers) well may become a reality. He and his team of ex-stutterers deserve our commendations and support.
JIM, London, September 2020