I cannot remember how it all began, nor do I have a memory of how it began to snowball but my mom tells me that it first started when I joined preschool. I came back stuttering. I was 3 years old. She said I was slapping my tongue as I was confused and I had no idea what was going on. As I grew older my stuttering became worse and it became frustrating for me to talk. I met many people in my life at that time and I loved to speak but sadly, speaking was a big difficulty as I would stutter at every word.
This was becoming frustrating so I joined speech therapy when I turned 8. Speech therapy taught me things such as elongating and repeating my words, and to stop and start over. That sounded robotic to me and basically everything felt unnatural. That did not help me at all, so, I left it.
My mom then started helping me on her own after reading Lee’s books. That helped me and I started speaking fluently and I soon forgot all that she taught me as I felt like I didn’t stutter anymore. I faced a relapse and it made a big come back this time! I could not say anything. One of the most embarrassing moments that happened during this time was when I met one of my uncles. I began talking about a game and I stuttered so severely in front of everyone. At that time, I had not joined the program, so I pushed at every word and the flow of my speech was terrible. I could not say anything In front of many people. It was embarrassing for me and it was hard.
My mother talked to my dad about WSSA’s program as she loved Lee Lovett’s book and had been following WSSA’s master class. My parents then reached out to Lee through email and connected with Danny at WSSA. I then joined this brilliant program. I first met Danny in a free consultation call. I could barely say much during that call. Danny introduced me to some of the Crutches and one hour reading each day. Two weeks later my speech changed day and night, but it was still not the best.
I then had my first session call with Coach Lee. My speech in that call was miserable, for I felt speech anxiety and I did not want to stutter in front of Lee who spoke SO well, but Lee did not seem to mind and he was very patient with everything I said. He taught me a lot in that call and he asked me to memorize all 12 crutches. He quickly identified that I was announcing everything I said like there were 1000 people watching me. He told me that I sounded like “everybody come and see Yasin is about to stutter!” I was embarrassed but I realized that he was right. He taught me to talk with a low register and that instantly changed my speech drastically. In that single call I learnt so much about my own voice and speech that I had never noticed in 13 years. After that call I instantly felt much more relaxed while speaking. That consultation call had felt like as if I had been practicing for 100 years it was THAT effective.
When I joined my first group practice session, I was very shy but my dad encouraged me to speak and ask them funny questions like what’s everyone’s favorite food. I was so shy that I was not even turning on my camera but my dad encouraged me to do that as well. A few days later I started having fun with all of the participants. I really love the community of amazing people and I have a lot of fun talking to different people of different cultures with different accents. It was so amazing to see how different yet so similar we all were.
I always look forward to all of my practice sessions with Danny, who has been one of my favorite mentors. He always encouraged me and helped me grasp all of the crutches. He started calling me “The bravest 13-year-old” and him constantly saying that made me believe it and gain confidence. I can never thank him enough for his motivation and support.
I had been matched with Javier for my one-on-one session. He is one of the kindest and patient mentors I have ever met. He guided me through every step and in just two sessions he made a speech plan for me that worked wonders. More than a teacher I consider these amazing mentors to be my lifelong friends, or my family.
I then joined a practice session with Steve who taught me how to have fun and talk with passion and joy. I was really reserved when I started but he changed that all in one practice session. Now I love being the first one to answer any question and participate in everything including SAM talks. No one in the community judges each other’s speech, everyone is encouraging and motivating each other to do better and that in itself is such a big blessing to be a part of.
Now it has been one month and I can say entire sentences with ease, patience and happiness. I have now become a PWSS (Person Who Stopped Stuttering) and I am really thankful to all those who helped me along the way. firstly, my parents who introduced me to this program, Lee for this amazing program and all of my therapists, that I thank with all my heart.
My journey has just begun, I still have a long way to go. As long as I keep using these methods of mind training daily affirmations and reading aloud for an hour every day, I KNOW that I will be the best speaker in a group.
Now I feel like my speech flows like a river. I feel like a can give speeches, maybe a few minor stumbles but no bad incidents. I have had a long streak of 41 days without any bad incidents. I have started speaking so fluently now that even my uncles, in front of whom I stuttered have said that “Yasin speaks so well”. I feel so happy. I had always prayed to God to make my speech better and now it all feels like magic. I am astonished and I am so grateful to everyone that helped me.
I plan on becoming a therapist in this program, WSSA, to help many others along the way who face the same problem as I did. I plan on staying here as long as I can even after I love to speak in all situations. I will convert my speech problems into a blessing. Thank you, Lee, for everything you have done and surely you are God sent to help all those in need and I thank you for everything that you have done for me and you have improved my speech and changed my life forever.
