Speech therapist shares personal experience of stammering

Daniel Hunter

A Rochdale speech and language specialist knows first hand how stammering can affect a person’s daily life, as depicted in the new movie The King’s Speech.

Actor Colin Firth picked up the ‘Best Actor’ award at the Golden Globes on Sunday for his portrayal of King George VI and his struggle to overcome his stammer. The King found it difficult to make public statements and read bedtime stories to his daughters but after working with speech therapist Lionel Logue, he was able to learn how to control his stammer and address the nation as King.

Daniel Hunter is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist working with young children, adolescents and adults for Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Community Healthcare. Mr Hunter has 14 year’s experience in speech and language therapy but having lived with a stammer all of his life, he is able to really understand the everyday challenges faced by the patients he works with.

“For people who stammer, speaking takes courage on a daily basis. Children and adults often have to deal with teasing and bullying and are faced with reduced opportunities, so I wanted to help people to fulfil their potential in speaking and in life, “said Mr Hunter.

“On the surface you can see and hear when a person physically struggles to speak but you can’t see the negative thoughts and feelings that they experience such as shame, embarrassment, frustration, anger and fear. Having a speech impediment can hold you back in many ways, such as having a job interview or even when ordering food because you decide to order the things you can say clearly, instead of what you actually want to eat.”

There is no conclusive evidence to say what causes people to stammer but research suggests that it may be genetic and can run in the family. However, there are many people who stammer with no history of it in the family.

“The King’s Speech has provided us with a real opportunity to talk about stammering and how difficult it can be for children and adults. Stammering is a serious communication problem that can have very far reaching consequences. It affects every aspect of life such as educational progress and social development, which then impacts on choice of career and subsequent employment prospects. It can cause a great deal of anxiety and unhappiness throughout life,” said Mr Hunter.

“Identifying that a child has a stammer early on is very important, so that speech therapy can be as effective as possible. Some children begin by having mild problems with speech but in more than half it happens really suddenly. This can lead a child to become angry and frustrated, particularly when other children start to notice, and they can go from being very outgoing to wanting to play alone and rarely speaking.”

In the film, George VI tries to treat his stammer by smoking which was thought to relax the throat and tries to read whilst holding several marbles in his mouth, neither of which helped at all. Thankfully modern techniques mean that most people who suffer from a stammer are able to have some control over it.

Mr Hunter added: “Modern techniques focus on the whole person by working on the physical aspects of stammering, as well as the negative thoughts and feelings which develop. We also look at how stammering impacts a person’s everyday life and help them to learn how to control their stammer in different situations.”

Mr Hunter has won numerous awards for his work in stammering therapy, notably being named Speech and Language Therapist of the Year by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 2005/6.

For more information about stammering, visit www.stammering.org or call the local Speech and Language Therapy Service on 01706 901786.