Hello, my name is Natalie, I am 30 years old and am from Alberta, Canada, and this is my stop-stuttering story.
I began stuttering around the age of four, struggling on roughly 20–30% of my words. I have always been what WSSA calls a situational stutterer — when the pressure is low, I speak fluently, but in high-pressure situations my speech can easily fall apart. Presentations, meetings, introductions, phone calls — the moment the stakes went up, I would block, sometimes severely. About 70% of my stuttering showed up as blocks rather than forced words.
Over the years, I attended different speech therapies, but none of them enabled me to stop stuttering or helped me make lasting progress. I would improve slightly inside the clinic, and then fall right back into the same patterns in real life. I eventually assumed that stuttering was something I just had to live with, which is the common belief.
Everything changed when I discovered How to Stop Stuttering and Love Speaking by Lee Lovett. For the first time in my life, I felt genuine hope — not just motivation, but a clear sense that stuttering can actually be stopped. I immediately bought 10 coaching sessions with WSSA and on June 15, 2024, I had my very first session with my CSS, CSS Prathusha.
Working with her through all ten sessions has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. The crutches that helped me the most were:
- Crutch 9 – Extreme Pronunciation
- Short–Link–Stop speech plan
- Crutch 1, Crutch 4, and Crutch 8 for my first-feared-word blocks
I am naturally a very fast speaker, and my stuttering shows up mainly as blocks. Slowing down and exaggerating pronunciation felt strange at first, but it worked — consistently. These tools gave me control in moments where I once felt helpless.
I also give regular presentations at work, and in the beginning they were extremely difficult for me. But after drilling the crutches and speech plans repeatedly, I started noticing real improvements. Now, I can manage presentations far more confidently, even when the pressure spikes.
I am proud to say that I have now gone four weeks without a single bad incident. There are still moments where my speech becomes slightly choppy, but I no longer fall off what Coach Lee calls the stutterer’s cliff. The moment I feel a block, I stop, take two counts, and start again using my crutch. This single habit has saved me countless times.
I also learned not to be overly harsh when grading my speech. That mindset shift alone removed so much unnecessary fear.
Although I’m now a PWSS (Person Who Stopped Stuttering), I know the journey isn’t over. I still practice my reading aloud, continue refining Short–Link–Stop, and work with Extreme Pronunciation whenever needed.
Mind training, to be honest, has been the hardest part for me. I used to feel it wasn’t effective. But over time I realized that mind training is just as integral as the speech tools — it’s what keeps the progress permanent. So I am trying my best to stay consistent with the routine.
Overall, the improvement I’ve seen through the WSSA program has been remarkable. I now know exactly what to do if I ever face a relapse, and I never again feel powerless in front of a block.
I am deeply grateful to CSS Prathusha, Coach Lee, and the entire WSSA team for this program. It has changed the way I see my speech, my future, and myself.
Natalie, Canada, December 2025