Stammering and Stuttering Blog

Steve Hill featured on the BBC!

blueboy — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:44:42 +0000

Here is a link to an article that was written on the popular BBC website back in 1999 when I was holding the speech courses in Brixham, Devon:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/364923.stm

Things have moved on some what since then and the courses are now held in Birmingham, central England. This is ensures that they are much more accessible to a larger amount of people and this is also the city of my birth.

Steve Hill http://www.stutter-stuttering.com

Stuttering at the Christmas Party

blueboy — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:38:03 +0000

Christmas is creeping up on us and it is the time of the year when people look forward or worry about attending the office Christmas party.

These events used to fill me with dread during the period when I had a stutter. I would worry about the whole social occasion, having to order drinks at the bar, having to converse with people and having to order the food. All of this would put massive pressure onto my speech and I just knew that I would end up stuttering in a major way.

If you have similar fears this Christmas then I wish you well, I understand just what you are going through.

Steve http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk

The Dragon Archery Centre in Devon

blueboy — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:50:46 +0000

I have just spent a few relaxing days in Devon with my family.

I visited a few friends and neighbours in Brixham which is where I used to live and which is where I started running the stuttering courses all those years ago.

We also visited the superb Dragon Archery Centre. I would like to personally thank the very kind family who run this centre for making it such a superb day out, especially for my eight year old son who loved every minute.

Think positive in your quest to achieve fluency

blueboy — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:53:50 +0000

The events of the last twelve hours have really put into context just what a crazy world we live in. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have been horrific and barbaric, I have been praying for all of those innocent people that have been caught up in the attacks.

I often say to the people who contact me with regards to stuttering that we have to some how get ourselves out of the negative vibe that we feel and to start thinking in a positive manner. Yes it is horrible and very frustrating to have a stutter but it is not the end of the world. To continue thinking that you are the most unfortunate person in the world is going to do little to help you.

There is only one thought process that will enable a person to achieve fluency and that is a positive one. It is time to fight back against the demons in our head and to stop listening to all those negative influences who attempt to make us accept the stutter.

There will be people out there who will state that you can not overcome a stutter, these people love to spread the negativity, I often wonder why they are not actually attempting to find a cure if they really believe in what they are saying. If what these people are saying is correct then how come I and many other people have managed to eradicate a stutter from our lives?

Positive, positive, positive, it is the only way to go. Ignore the negative.

The Stuttering Helpline

blueboy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:34:59 +0000

I am some what disgusted as I write this post today. My father had read an article about a stammering helpline which is run by The BSA (The British Stammering Association) and was interested to see what advice they were giving to people who stammer and their families.

My dad became very frustrated at the quality of help that was around when I was a child and when I was a teenager. Speech therapy for stammering was basically pathetic. The speech therapists themselves were less than confident. This is what one therapist said to me:

"You can not cure a stammer I am afraid to tell you."

"So I am going to stammer forever?"

"Yes I am afraid so."

WELL GUESS WHAT YOU WERE WRONG! I have now been fluent for the last thirteen years NO THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR NEGATIVE CRONIES!

Anyway going back to normality - YES I AM ANGRY.

So my father decided to phone this so called helpline.

"Hi I wonder if you can help me. My son has been attending speech therapy for as long as I can remember and it just isn't helping. He is now getting very irritated and quite desperate, I am actually scared that he might try and harm himself in some way. I am obviously keen to help him and am now looking for more specialist treatment. Do you know of any specialist courses or people who have managed to overcome a stammer/stutter who can possibly offer any assistance? I am not looking for any guarantees as most sane people are aware that success is also dependent on the amount of work and practice one puts in etc?"

Stammer helpline operator: So where does your son live?

My dad: The Midlands

Stammer helpline operator: OK, there are three speech therapists in your area, the first is called…….

My dad: Hold on a minute, I do not think you understand me; I am not looking for a speech therapist. I am after a name of a person or organisation that can offer my son REAL HELP. Do you know of any?

Stammer helpline operator: No I am sorry.

My dad: Have you heard of a man called Steve Hill?

Stammer helpline operator: Yes

My dad: So why did you not mention his name?

Stammer helpline operator: He offers a cure and I am therefore not allowed by the British Stammering Association rules to give out his name.

My dad: I was not looking for any guarantees. I can hear that you have a stammer yourself. You should be ashamed of yourself, I have told you that I am worried that my son might harm himself in some way but still you do not offer me what I have asked for. Why should you and your organisation act like Hitler and dictate what you feel we should and should not hear. I am an adult and am mature enough to decide for myself whether the course that Mr Hill is offering would be of benefit to my son.

Stammering helpline - what a joke!

Please feel free to phone me for some proper help on 0121 453 9208 or on 07967 549 070.

Steve Hill

What Will Happen When The High Earners Lose Their Job?

blueboy — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:57:40 +0000

This credit crunch is starting to bite! Stock markets from around the world are falling to new twelve month lows and governments are quaking in their boots.

The big R, recession, has now arrived so when will we start to see and end to all of this doom and gloom?

I actually believe that there is a long way to go yet, I know this might sound rather negative but it is just my opinion.

I read a recent comment on a blog which read something like this:

With regards to the subject of debt:

I have associates who earn between 70K to 110K

Many have mortgages in excess of 400K

They have two or three cars on lease/hp

They have credit card balances 40k to 70k

What happens when these people lose their job?

I wonder.

Increase Confidence And Overcome Stuttering

blueboy — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:43:58 +0000

During the eighteen years in which I had a stutter I always believed that there was a major connection between my confidence and the speech impediment. There were times, all be it they were rather few and far between, when I felt extremely confident, this would seemingly always lead to a massive improvement on my overall fluency levels.

For this reason I felt it was essential that I put in a lot of time to try to improve my overall confidence levels when also attempting to overcome the stutter.

This was my own personal war and like any typical war you need to fight on more than one front from time to time. I fought many mini battles and would eventually become victorious in my war on the stuttering demons.

I would say that 70% of my focus was spent on developing stuttering therapy cure techniques and that the other 30% was spent on learning about the best methods of gaining confidence and self-esteem.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Steve Hill

Stuttering therapy in Australia and New Zealand

blueboy — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:04:46 +0000

I am getting an ever increasing amount of e-mails from Australia and New Zealand, the site must be becoming more prominent in the major search engines of these countries.

Due to the location of these countries the best way that I can help people from this area is via the self-help stuttering therapy products:

The DVD

The audio book

The course notes ebook

I am also able to offer continued support via e-mail where I offer additional advice and where I answer any questions which may arise.

I would like to welcome all of the visitors to this blog and its associated websites from these countries. I hope you enjoy reading through the sites and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Steve Hill http://www.stutter-stuttering.com http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk

Top week of birthday celebrations

blueboy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:41:13 +0000

My son has fully enjoyed his week long birthday celebrations and is now a fully fledged eight year old, it only seems like yesterday when he was born.

I will now be back to posting on this blog at my normal regular rate.

It has been important to keep up to date with my daily mountain of e-mails from people who stutter, therefore I thank you for your patience during this period.

The weekend speech courses are proving to be increasingly popular as are the self-help products such as the downloadable DVD.

Steve Hill

Therapy For Young Children Who Have A Stutter

blueboy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:02:39 +0000

I had an e-mail yesterday from somebody who has a five-year old who has a stutter. She was asking about the best ways in which she could help her child and whether there was any specialist stuttering therapy for children available.

In truth it can be quite difficult to coach a young child the stuttering fluency techniques and it is as much about the coaching the parents in reality. They will be the ones who the child will ultimately listen to and learn from.

I am going to spending an hour a night, four nights a week, over the coming months to help this lady and her child. I am confident that together we will be able to help her son to eradicate his speech impediment.