Perfection. The word I strived for when it came to speech fluency. My name is Danny; I’m 34, and I live in Connecticut. I became a PWS on 27 May 2007. I will always remember the place and time of that event because I was in Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, watching my favorite soccer team play a friendly match. I remember watching the players warm-up and turning to my cousin to make a comment about one of the players, where suddenly a word just wouldn’t come out of my mouth. I thought nothing of it besides that it was kind of weird and unusual, but little did I know that would be the first of endless incidents I would suffer for the next fifteen years.
I became a situational stutterer, meaning I would randomly have long pauses with certain words when talking to some others but not with everyone all the time. I would get frustrated at myself because when I was with some people or when I was alone, I would speak fluently, but the minute I was in the presence of most humans, Satan stuttering would return in full force.
Gradually, I thus started to become more quiet and reserved until 2019, when I decided to see a speech therapist. I was excited and anxious to begin the journey to fluency, but after nearly a year of weekly sessions, I felt my speech remained the same. I felt I would have to live with this thing forever. I would often get down on myself and cry sometimes about my speech.
However, all that changed in late 2022/early 2023, when I came across a user on Reddit in the stuttering subreddit. I was touched by a comment he/she left in one of the threads and messaged the user about it. The user recommended I read HOW TO STOP STUTTERING & LOVE SPEAKING by the great Lee Lovett. I immediately began reading, and I can honestly say this book not only touched my heart but my SOUL. The stories Lee told about himself, other PWS, and especially the methods to defeat stuttering were nothing short of remarkable. What has helped me the most from reading the book are: reading aloud for one hour a day; practicing the crutches you feel most comfortable with; doing affirmations twice a day; and keeping a positive mindset.
Without getting coaching from Lee or any of his ex-stuttering coaches, I was able to stop stuttering, simply by studying his book and diligently applying his methods and by joining “the world’s only community of ex-stutterers”, WSSA and studying the methods there.. It took me around two to three months to stop my stuttering.
I used to strive for perfection in my speech, but the real word(s) I should’ve been using are persistence and patience. If you immerse yourself in Lee Lovett’s book and watch the many helpful videos on WSSA and are persistent and patient enough, then one day you too can say, “stuttering became the greatest blessing in my life.”
Danny, Connecticut, April 2023
