In reply to: found “Finding the words, How some stutterers are talking their way out of isolation,” (Sunday Tribune Magazine, Sept. 24) most interesting. I am 65 years old and started to stutter about age 9 or 10. It got increasingly worse within a short time, and my parents sent me to speech therapists. I had a very difficult time in high school and even worse in college. I could not say my first name, the street I lived on or the city I lived in.
In my early 20s I went to a “premier” speech therapist. He gave me breathing exercises, told me to read aloud by myself, etc. All to no avail.
I resigned myself to my situation and did the best I could. When I was 27, my mother read an article about a hypnotist who hypnotized a group of people and then spoke to each individual regarding his or her particular problem. I attended the sessions three times a week and within a month made dramatic improvements. Two months later my speech was normal and I stopped going.
Later in my life I became a sales manager and had no difficulty speaking to groups from 10 to 100 people.
In my case, the problem was mental. I would strongly encourage stutterers to try hypnosis. It worked for me so fast and lasted for the balance of my life. I’m sure it can do the same for others.
