TRANSCRIPT OF A PRESENTATION, BY ALAN BADMINGTON, TO ...

age). This resistance is one of the reasons why stuttering is such a hard
nut to crack.
There are so many other issues I would like to have dealt with this
afternoon, such as:
1. How research into stuttering has suffered over the years because of
the narrow paradigm that has been applied to it.
2. Why it is most unhelpful that the term ‘stuttering’ is used to
encompass so many diverse types of dysfluency.
3. Why stuttering cannot be solved like a mathematical problem, where
the subject matter continues to exist in a different form.
Sadly, time is not on my side – but perhaps I may have the opportunity to
enlarge upon this on some future occasion.
I now realise that, although I was not aware of John Harrison’s concepts
until last year, I had made considerable changes in my own personal
stuttering hexagon over the years – aided, of course, by the Edinburgh
Masker. Despite the setbacks, I had already set up a system that would
support greater fluency and fuller self-expression. I recognise that I owe an
immense debt of gratitude to the McGuire Programme for providing the
final piece of the jigsaw and, like a laser beam, all my energies are now
moving in the same direction.
There has been, and will continue to be, discussion as to whether stuttering
is a genetic or psychological problem. That is not the remit of my
presentation here today. I came to tell you that I strongly believe that
stuttering is not merely associated with the mechanics of speech. I hope
that during this past hour or so, I have demonstrated my reasons for
claiming that, “Stuttering is not just a speech problem”.
The theme of this year’s conference, here at Hope University, is “Fear can
hold you prisoner, hope can set you free”. The need to overcome fear has