commentr/StutterSeptember 2, 2025

Content

Yeah, I get that it may sound like that since I'm just so over the moon about it. I'm in no way affiliated with the program by the way. Alright, I'll try my best to describe some key approaches of this over 700 page book: The approach is based on neuroplasticity, the ability for a brain to change itself throughout it's whole lifetime. Further, it views stuttering as nothing more but a habit that was "learned" and then reinforced – in my case and many other PWS – over years and years. There is nothing physically wrong that would inhibit a PWS from speaking fluently – which was obvious to me since every PWS I've met is fluent in some situations (when talking alone, recording voice messages, singing etc.). Because of this, it views stuttering as a habit that can also be "unlearned" again by disuse. This is achieved by (1) hearing fluency and (2) not hearing dysfluency from your lips. There isn't a single method that's some kind of magical cure. This method is holistic and is based on consistent daily practice. It asks you for example to do mind-training (repeating positive auto-suggestions, self-hypnosis), read aloud as much as you can (at least 60 minutes daily) and use some speech tools to overcome the blocks while you're in the process of unlearning the stuttering habit. I won't post all of the speech tools here as I don't want to do Lee a disservice by plagiarizing his book, but here's just a few that have helped me a lot (and keep helping me a lot whenever I feel I might block on a word). For individual words: \- Dropping or whispering the first letter or syllable of a word \- Inserting another word in front of the feared word and linking the words together For general speech: \- speak in short increments, use lots of pauses \- hold your tone while speaking, link your words, focus on the tone instead of the words \- insert some passion, be expressive One of the things that really helped a lot as well was the community aspect. Besides the book itself, there is a great community of PWS who are also working on their speech that regularly meet up in meetings and practice sessions. Here's some success stories people have posted if you're curious: [https://speechanxietyanonymous.org/](https://speechanxietyanonymous.org/)

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCoping & AdvocacyIdentity & Disability

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionHiding & ConcealmentFluency TechniquesAuthenticity vs. MaskingAcceptance & Pride