Hello everybody, I am Sharlene and I’m a 53 year old female from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I am a registered nurse who specializes in post-anesthesia nursing. Also, I recently acquired my certification in health information management.
I have stuttered since about the age of 2, and before I discovered Lee’s book, I stuttered on about 30% of my words. As a child, stuttering caused me to feel ashamed, and to develop a low self-esteem and low self-confidence. At times I was afraid to speak, because in my mind, if I stuttered, I would be humiliated. I was also affected socially, and became an introvert. There were a couple of instances where I received speech therapy through the school system, but they were not effective. In adulthood (my early 20’s), I enrolled in the Precision Fluency Shaping Program. I had good results directly after the program, but the results were difficult to maintain. I joined a group of people who had completed the program, and met every month to practice the techniques that we had learned – this was helpful for a while.
My work life has been a challenge, because it involves a lot of communicating, often in stressful situations. I am good at my job, but I have always felt that stuttering has held me back from realizing my full potential.
About 2 years ago, I discovered Lee’s book on Audible. I later bought the print copy. The information was innovative. I began to apply the information and use the crutches. My speech fluency improved somewhat, but I felt that I needed support. Therefore, I joined Speech Anxiety Cures as a stuttering plan member. I then decided that I needed a speech coach.
Prathusha has been my speech coach. She has reinforced the crutches that I learned in Lee’s book, including the 1-2-3 punch. She has given valuable feedback, and demonstrated the techniques that I needed assistance with. I am grateful that I have been provided with videos of our sessions, so that I can review them.
I really appreciate the fact that Lee unselfishly wrote his book in order to help other PWS. Lee’s book has introduced me to techniques of autosuggestion and self- hypnosis – the blessings of mind control. I have experienced the freedom of fluent speech, and I am no longer a prisoner of stuttering.
I extend my deepest gratitude to SAC, Lee and especially Prathusha, and I urge all PWS to join SAC and take advantage of all the books, videos, forums, speech club and the like. It’s a great program and, as far as I know, it’s the only place in the world where you can find a team of EX-stutterers to help you stop stuttering.
Sharlene, Toronto, January 2021