Watching someone with a severe stammer can be difficult mainly because there is little you can do to help.
But actually having a severe stammer can be overwhelming for that person – in all areas of their life. For over half a million people in Britain, a stammer affects their lives every day.
The Stammer School
The Channel 4 documentary The Stammer School follows struggling stammerers as they enrol on an intensive four-day course called The McGuire Programme.
The documentary features Musharaf Asghar, affectionately known as Mushy, from Educating Yorkshire. In 2013 he found a place in the heart of the nation as millions tuned in to watch him learn methods to overcome his often crippling stutter, and achieve the C grade he needed in his English GCSE.
Although Mushy’s stammer was improved, he was still often left speechless.
Joining him on the course is 23-year-old Vicky Croft who developed a stammer following a minor stroke. Now more likely to stay at home than go out with friends, Vicky dreams of getting back to the bubbly, confident person that she was before her stammer.
The programme follows Mushy, Vicky and other stammerers on an emotional and dramatic journey as they learn new breathing techniques and tackle talking on the phone and even public speaking.
During the course, participants, including Mushy, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, learn methods devised 20 years ago by US-born Dave McGuire. Because its techniques aren’t yet supported by official research, the programme isn’t endorsed by speech therapists, although many still recommend it.
Speaking in the Telegraph, motivational coach and former stammerer Whincup, said: “In more than 10 years leading courses, I’ve met two people not able to say a single word on the first night and Mushy was one of them; he couldn’t even get out the first letter of his name.”
Theories and practices
According to Whincup, stammering has both physiological and psychological causes. “The theory is a misfiring left side of the brain confuses messages to the voicebox and then, when you become aware of it, you’re hit by the psychological impact and it gets worse.”
Participants learn “costal” breathing used by opera singers, where air enters the lungs and the stomach expands. They also study a psychological technique known as “non-avoidance”, where they confront their stammer, rather than dodging “difficult” words. On day three, they’re sent out into the street to talk to 100 strangers. On day four, each speaks to a packed room.
Alongside Mushy was Vicky Croft, a 23-year-old recruitment manager from Liversedge. Until Christmas, Croft was an “outgoing person, you couldn’t shut me up”. But a small stroke left her stammering.
“It was shattering. Often I’d have to text my mum when I was sitting right next to her, because I couldn’t say anything. Once they wouldn’t allow me into a bar, they thought I was too drunk. I thought: ‘Am I going to be a recluse for the rest of my life?’ ”
Initially sceptical, Croft was addressing a crowded pub within days, leaving the production crew in tears. “I’ve never not cried during a course,” says Whincup. “It’s a very emotional thing, seeing people who’d lost hope, find this confidence.”
Mushy who, since the Programme, has been able to further his dream of becoming a teacher; returning to his old school, Thornhill Academy, for work experience.
More information
To read more go to the Telegraph website.
To watch the programme go to Channel4.
Written by Rachel Harrison on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.
