Hi there, my name is Steve Hill from the West Midlands in England. I am somebody who at the age of four developed a speech impediment which is called a stutter. Stuttering continued to plague my life for the next eighteen years before, after working very hard, I managed to overcome the problem. The stutter itself was so frustrating at times and there were periods in my life where I just wanted it all to end. I am glad I continued to battle on as I am now enjoying what life is like as a fluent person, to say it is superb is an understatement.
If you know anyone who has a speech impediment please do not take the mickey out of them as life will be hard enough already for these people. Personally the worst period of my life came in high school where I endured a lot of abuse from people who still think of themselves as good friends of mine, they are wrong as I have not forgotten how they treated me. Some people may suggest that I should forget the past and to move on, I have moved on however to forget is easier said than done.
I always called the speech impediment that I had a stutter. At the age of around twenty-three I moved from my native Birmingham to live in Brixham, Devon. People in this area of the UK and in places such as London actually refer to the speech impediment as a stammer. Now I am sure that there must be some kind of difference between what a stammer or stutter is but I am yet to learn the answer. In fact most people in England do call it a stammer where as people in countries such as America refer to it as a stuttering problem.
Lately I have heard about things called cluttering and studdering. I am now becoming very confused by the whole subject and think that I will stick to calling it a stutter.
Many people believe that you are unable to cure a stutter including The British Stammering Association, I of course know different, I am after all living proof.
Stephen Hill helps people who stutter to achieve fluency. He has a number of websites including:
stuttering cure
stuttering therapy
help for a stutter
