The self-help way to cure a stammer (From Barry And District News)

The self-help way to cure a stammer

A COURSE to help Barry people with a stammer could change sufferers lives.

Self-help coach Stephen Hill had been battling with his impediment since the age of four. He was told on many occasions that he would never achieve fluency in his speech.

But despite all the odds, The 31-year-old has managed to train himself to speak without a stammer. He will be running a free open day on Saturday November 20, the venue is yet to be decided.

Stephen, a father-of-two, who lives in Birmingham, travels around the country helping people struggling with the problem.

Over the years he had hidden away from conversation.

The self-help devotee said: "At school I never spoke in class, and I was teased constantly. My classmates thought I was shy, but the truth was that I was too afraid to open my mouth.

"As for girlfriends, it was hopeless. The one and only time I got a girl's phone number, I couldn't muster up the courage to ring her.

"Whenever people asked me where I was from, I'd say the West Midlands, because Birmingham, where I then lived just wouldn't come out."

One day he decided to fight the problem.

He said: "After years of unsuccessful speech therapy, I taught myself fluency techniques.

"Stammering can literally ruin a person's life, stopping them reaching their potential at work and re-stricting their social life, not to mention the ridicule which some suffer at the hands of cruel people.

"My personality was trapped by my stutter. I wanted a normal life and the confidence to get a proper job. One day I saw Tony Blair on the news. I studied the way he talked, the way his lips moved and the expression on his face. He was so confident."