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JavierModeratorOn average, it should take you a few months, but as I said, it depends on the person, their determination, and how hard they work on it. So don’t worry, it shouldn’t take you 25 years to stop stuttering š
JavierModeratorAs you said, it depends on the situation. Crutch 4 has always been among my favourite ones, as well as word linkage. Now I’m liking Crutches 9 and 11 (extreme pronunciation and speaking like a king). But on some ocassions, speaking in a softer voice, or dropping the first letter have saved me from stuttering.
It is normal that when we begin using a Crutch we feel awkward, speaking in a strange way. It’s because we’ve never used it before, we’re not used to it, yet. But as you said some time ago, Leah, record yourself using them. You’ll be surprised because you’ll sound fine, even better than you normally speak. Try it!
And of course, the more you use them and practice with them, the better you’ll use them, the easier it will become.
Just like with most things in life, it’s a matter of practice. We can’t expect to master something just by using it a few times.JavierModeratornot really. Remember that Lee mentioned in his stuttering book that a university (I think it was in the UK) made a research and saw that, on average, it takes 66 days to create a new habit? Well, on average, that should be the time it takes to create the habit of fluent speech. Of course, it’s an average, so some people take longer, some people do it in a shorter period of time. Of course, how many years we’ve been stuttering and the severity of our stutters matter. In my case (severe stuttering), it took me 8 months. But I had a PWS (mild case) who did it in 5 weeks, and he’s 22, and began stuttering at age 9.
Lee and I have also coached another person, 48 years old, mild stuttering since he was 10, and he became a PWSS in 5 weeks too.
On the other hand, I have PWS who I’ve been coaching for a year or so (they are improving, but they go at a much slower pace). It also depends on your determination and work ethics. The ones that I mentioned and that beat it in 5 months have worked really hard. But most of the people I coach don’t follow all my instructions to the letter, and they don’t improve so quickly.JavierModeratorExactly! I completely agree with you!
JavierModeratorThat’s fantastic, GĆ”bor. You should definitely feel proud of this, and celebrate these moments. Keep working on your speech!
JavierModeratorI’d recommend you to continue practicing with all the Crutches, just like you’ve been doing. Maybe you could focus a bit more on C-11, but don’t ignore the rest. And in your daily conversations, focus more on C-11, just like Lee suggested you.
JavierModeratorThat’s fantastic, GĆ”bor. Keep it like that. It seems like you’re making a lot of progress!!
About Lee’s book, yeah, you’re right. I’ve read the 2nd edition of the book 2 times. Then I read the 3rd edition when it was released, then I translated it to Spanish, and had to read it thoroughly several times to search for typos and such. So I almost know the book by heart now, but every time I read it I learnt new things.JavierModeratorHi John. I had to jump in, because I saw that session you had with Lee. Crutch 11 is great. Use it 24/7, as much as you can, even when you don’t need it. I coached a PWS some months ago, and I explained to him that Crutch. Within 5 weeks he became a PWSS. You can also do it!!
JavierModeratorHi GĆ”bor. Lee is right, the SAM meetings are a great place to do that, and I think they are extremely motivating for PWS to hear so many PWSS speak. But, my opinion for cases like yours (PWS), your main goal is to become a PWSS, and as you know, to get there, you need to hear as much fluency coming out of your lips as possible, and as little disfluency as possible. Stuttering is like a fire, and our stutters and blocks are like gasoline. The more bad incidents we have, the more gasoline we’re pouring to the fire. We need that fire to consume itself, until it disappears. That’s why we always recommend to use the chat and write a message if you need to, in order to avoid bad incidents.
You can also try to exaggerate the use of the Crutches, and practice them in the SAM meetings too. In any case, in these meetings we’re all PWS and PWSS. So, whisper to us, use EXTREME pronunciation, insert full stops every few words, use synonyms, (d)rop the (f)irst (l)etter of (y)our (w)ords, we will understand what you say, and we’ll be happy to see you work on your speech š
And as I said before, you can always write your ideas.JavierModeratorReally well explained!!
JavierModeratorThat’s because you’re actually planning your words most likely.
In any case, this are the 2 main ways how smiling has helped me, and continues to help me:
Before speaking to a stranger (for example, before asking for info at an office, store, etc). Before you approach them, start smiling and try not to think your words.
It has also helped me and made the other crutches easier to use. I rarely use that Crutch alone, I always combine it with other ones.
October 13, 2020 at 3:31 pm in reply to: Do you stutter more when you speak in another language? #27931JavierModeratorIn my case, I used to have more trouble speaking in English compared to Spanish, and the only reason is that my vocabulary isn’t as wide in English, so I had to plan even more words. So we need to focus more on the Crutches. But we can speak using C-13 in another language, even if our vocabulary isn’t that wide. I do it all the time.
The language, or words beginning with certain letters are not a problem any longer. We have 12 (13) ways to avoid having a bad incident.JavierModeratorHi GƔbor,
we have sent your enquiry to WSSA, they should reply to you any time soon (if they haven’t replied you already).JavierModeratorExactly! The Crutches are much easier to use when we slow down, and we actually sound a lot better. Speaking quickly not only makes you more nervous, it makes you sound more nervous, insecure. Slowing down makes you sound more confident, calm.
JavierModeratorthat’s fantastic, GĆ”bor! Congratulations. Make sure to celebrate every time you say something fluently, even if it is a simple “good morning”. I used to do that, and it helps.
One of the things that helps me the most is slowing down. I enjoy speaking a lot more when I slow down.
And don’t forget that using the Crutches is not a failure. It’s the exact opposite. It’s a huge success! Why? Because thanks to them you managed to avoid a bad incident and therefore speak fluently, and most likely in the past you would have stuttered in that same situation! So celebrate it!! -
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