Widdrington woman now helping others after own battle with stammering
A Widdrington woman whose life was so limited by her stammer that she learnt British Sign Language is now helping others with the condition.
Laura Logan, 29, is raising awareness of the speech condition ahead of International Stammering Awareness Day on October 22.
Stammering knocked her self-confidence during her teenage years and early adulthood, preventing her from doing so many things that others take for granted.
“I wasn’t aware I had a stammer until I was eight,” she reveals. “I used to volunteer to read aloud in class, loved being leading roles in school plays and was very outgoing until a few times when I was reading aloud in class I’d stumble or block on a word or sound. Some other children would laugh and that’s when I knew I was different to my peers.
"A few years on and I used to feel be sick before any lesson in school I knew I may be asked to read or answer a question in. I’d pretend I couldn’t read or that I hadn’t heard the teacher.
"My life was so stressful and I felt like I was in a constant state of panic; making my time at school quite traumatic. I reached fever pitch in my life and began learning sign language to avoid having to talk again.”
She describes herself as a ‘covert stammerer’ and quite good at hiding her stutter in most situations.
“I would try and avoid situations where I might stammer, substituting words and sounds and if I had to answer the phone, repeat myself or read aloud I was so consumed by fear I would freeze and no sound would come out,” she says.
Deep down she knew something had to change and that happened in 2019 when she discovered and joined The McGuire Programme.
Five years on and she is now a certified primary speech coach and trainer
Laura says: “I’ve done things I never thought possible before: presenting at a BrewEd conference, public speaking in cities across the UK, attend client calls, give daily department briefings and I’ve set up my YouTube channel where I make and post vlogs and even organised a McGuire intensive course which is something I’ve always wanted to do!
"The techniques I’ve learnt (on the programme) have enabled me to move from being uncommunicative, hiding behind sign language, making excuses and avoiding speaking to people or using a phone at all costs; to now seeking out speaking situations to push further out my comfort zone, raise awareness about stammering and help, inspire and motivate as many people as I can.
"It’s not just about learning to overcome your stutter, it can positively improve your mental well-being as hiding from the everyday world behind your stammer was exhausting, stressful and awful. I’m so thankful that’s all changed now.”
One in 100 people have a stammer.
“If you know someone with a speech impediment, give them time,” says Laura. “Don’t look away, don’t interrupt them or try to finish their sentences. Don’t mock them. Remember how fortunate you are to be a “normal” fluent speaker. Give stammerers time. We just need longer to say what we need to.”
A residential intensive course is being held in Newcastle from November 27-30. Visit www.mcguireprogramme.com for more information.