Announcing 'Stammering Research' - Stammering Research - UCL

Stammering Research. Vol. 1.
wasn’t for my speech problem I think I would have pursued a career on the stage. Now that my
stammer is under control I am exploring the idea of TV presenting and am having a meeting with a
director shortly regarding a chat show.
Other than my speech I have always felt happy with myself. I am gregarious, witty and able to
relate to people whatever their background.
Question: Helen, what made you seek help for your stammer.
Answer: The stammer has been the only fly in my ointment. Everything else is fine. I felt that if I
could conquer the stammer I would die happy! I spoke to my Doctor about this and she got in touch
with the Speech Therapy Service. It was so fortunate that I was able to get a place on an Apple House
course before Gerda goes. Fate and fortune were on my side.
Question: Helen, can you tell me how the Apple House course helped you?
Answer: There are many things that I learnt but these are the most important:
I stopped ‘circumnavigating’ in order to get round difficult sounds or words. For
example, I remember an incident at the railway station when I had to ask for a ticket to
Reading. I just couldn’t get the word ‘Reading’ out and expressed it as ‘the county
town of Berkshire’. This was something I constantly did to minimize the stammer,
but now I do not have to do this.
I have buried ghosts. I associate a great many unpleasant incidences regarding my
stammer with my cruel stepfather. All the bad feelings have been exorcised since the
course.
I have learnt to listen. I have discovered that no two stammers are the same. Until I
had been on the course I had never met another person who stammered. It was a
revelation to find so many others with similar difficulties. There is so little public
awareness of speech difficulties.
I have learnt to control my speaking by slowing down my speech and being aware of
how to use the voice. This is very useful; especially when I am tired as I can switch
into a mode of speaking that brings fluency.
I have learnt to read out aloud to others. This is something that has bugged me since
school days and it is so exciting to have achieved success. Although I haven’t been
able to read to others I have always managed to read stories to my daughter. Now I
can do both!
I found the group situation on the course very good for support, providing an audience for the variety
of speaking activities we undertook. What has been most important, though, is Gerda, herself. She is
the most amazing person. Her total belief in my ability to conquer my speech problem has been the key
to my success. The techniques were much less important. Gerda’s ability to sum up people is unique.
She knows which bell to press to get the right response from everyone. There is something quite
extraordinary about her. It is her, as a person, rather than anything else that is important for the course
participants. She makes us feel worthwhile individuals - she gives us a respect that we haven’t received
from people before. I am surprised at how many of the course participants have had such rotten
experiences and unfeeling responses from those who should know better.
Question: Did the good things started at the Apple House continue for you?
Answer: So far so good. I feel very confident about the future. As I said before, I feel I’ve conquered
my problem and so I will die happy. I hope to be around for sometime yet to make good use of my
fluent speaking skills!
3. Discussion
Qualitative researchers regard transcripts as an excellent resource, which professionals can use to
examine their own and each other’s practice. It is so important to listen to what clients say and
understand how they feel because by doing so one has the opportunity to reflect on the direction of
therapy and research that is suggested by their views. By refusing to begin from a common conception,
as in quantitative research, of what might be wrong in a setting, we may be most able to contribute to
the identification both of what is going on and of how it may be modified in pursuit of desired ends. By
concentrating on what is close to hand we recognize that experience is not more or less authentic but is
narrated in ways that are open to lively investigation. Helen says that: ‘My life has made me tough and
determined’. This courageous response shines through all the interviews. The four respondents have
suffered since children, because of dysfluent speech, and endured careless comments that undermined
their self-image. Yet somehow, all were able to survive and develop successful lives, although at great
personal cost. The depth of despair is evident in all accounts, which reveal similarities and differences
in responses that can be commented on in light of other quantitative data collected and the questions
that this information poses for further investigations.
Similarities in interview data
The scripts reveal the following similarities:
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