My name is Marin. I’m a 44-year-old lawyer from Croatia, and for most of my life, stuttering was a constant burden—one that especially affected my career and self-esteem. As someone who regularly speaks in court hearings, the pressure to speak clearly and confidently was always high. Unfortunately, I often struggled to get words out, especially under stress. My fast-speaking rate only made things worse.
Then, in December 2024, I discovered the World Stop Stuttering Association and started reading Coach Lee’s book How to Stop Stuttering & Love Speaking. That was the beginning of a huge shift towards positive way of thinking. The book opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at speech—and life. I began applying what I learned, and my stuttering reduced significantly. However, I soon realized I needed more. I understood the theory, but I wasn’t confident in using the Crutches or the Speech Plans on my own. That’s when I found Certified Stuttering Therapist (CST) Prathusha through a crutch practice session. I could tell immediately that she understood my struggles. I booked a 5-session package with her, and those sessions made all the difference.
In our time together, we focused heavily on how to use all the Crutches and most importantly, how to apply the Emergency Speech Plan under pressure. Each session gave me tools and strategies that were practical and immediately useful. Slowly but surely, my bad incidents became fewer and farther apart. By our fifth session, I was no longer just “trying” to speak fluently—I was taking control of my speech. I was able to stop having humiliating stuttering incidents. I was no longer appearing to be a stutterer.
Here are a few tools that helped me the most:
1. Short increments, extreme pronunciation, and frequent stops gave me better rhythm and clarity.
2. I started inserting stops before blocks which helped me avoid freezing.
3. When things got tough, I stuck with the Emergency Speech Plan: Short. Link. Stop. That structure gave me confidence.
4. As a naturally fast speaker, slowing down my rate of speech and especially using extreme pronunciation, made a huge difference.
5. I committed to reading aloud and doing mind training, which helped me stay positive and retrain my thinking patterns.
I’m proud to say I’ve gone three months without a bad incident (appearing to be a stutterer). That’s a huge milestone for me. But I also know this is just the beginning. I’ve reached First Base—stopping stuttering—but I haven’t yet learned to love to speak in every situation and being in control in absolutely every situation I find myself in. That’s my next goal.
I still deal with anxiety and high-pressure moments, but now I have tools and support. I consider myself a work in progress, and that’s okay. What matters is that I’m on the path, and I’m committed to staying with the program until I reach the point where I can look back and say, “Stuttering was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
I want to thank Coach Lee for creating this program and all the CSTs at WSSA who are doing such an incredible job helping people like me. I especially want to thank CST Prathusha for her patience, knowledge, and unwavering support. By this program and their methods (crutches) supported with positive approach, they really made curing stuttering look easy. Although of course, it does take individual work and patience as well.
To every Person Who Stutters (PWS) out there: join WSSA – appropriately called “the world’s only community of EX-stutterers and those fast becoming ex-stutterers”. WSSA has posted hundreds of videos and texts of cases like mine. This is the only program in the world that is truly based on neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change and adapt. If I can do it, so can you.
Marin, Croatia, July 2025