Discovering Fluency through Technology

By John M. Williams

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I have stuttered for 53 years. I have never liked it. Hundreds of times I have cursed it.

Throughout my life, I tried a variety of therapies and devices to assist me achieve fluent speech. The therapies worked briefly. Their effectiveness collapsed because I lacked the discipline to carry through on the therapies.

In 2001, I was introduced to the SpeechEasy (www.speecheasy.com). After a week of using it, I returned it to the manufacturer. For me, it had more negatives than positives. It was not the miracle cure for stuttering that I had heard. It felt cumbersome wearing it in my ear. It picked up too many strange noises that were distractions.

In 2005, I was reintroduced to an upgraded version of the SpeechEasy. This time, the product wasmolded to fit comfortably into my ear. I was given practice sessions at East Carolina University, where I was taught to care for it. Wearing the SpeechEasy, my daily 10-minute practice sessions occur in the morning and evening. During practice, I read out loud. As I approach a word that I know is difficult, I stretch the vowel sounds before the word. I duplicate the stretching exercise while speaking.

Also during practice, I use the "uh" method. When I stop reading to take a breath, I resume reading by using "uh." This program increases my fluency in conversational speech, in delivering speeches and in reading.

I wear the "In the Canal" version of the SpeechEasy for a month. I warm up by reciting either the months of the year or a prayer out loud. The SpeechEasy resembles a hearing aid, and it emulates choral speech - a phenomenon that induces fluency in people who stutter. The device creates this choral pattern through Altered Audio Feedback (AAF) that consists of a combination of Delayed Audio Feedback (DAF) and Frequency Altered Feedback (FAF).

I wear the SpeechEasy eight hours daily when I am in a group, giving a speech or talking on the telephone. I do not wear it when I am writing, reading, watching TV, walking, riding a train or flying. The adjustable volume on the microphone is so sensitive that it picks up the loudest sound. Sirens and the screeching brakes of train have produced a piercing ringing in my ear that causes headaches.

The SpeechEasy has increased my fluency on the telephone, in small groups and in delivering speeches. When speaking on the telephone, I can hear myself being fluent. In small groups, where I am more comfortable speaking, since I started using the SpeechEasy, I am more fluent. Attendees have said so.

One of the benefits of increased fluency is an increase in my energy level. The less I stutter the more stamina I have, and my productivity rises.

The SpeechEasy used in unison with a good speech therapy program, coupled with discipline by the user and knowledge of the proper usage and care of the technology produced changes in my speech, and I expect future advancements.

Overall, my stuttering rate has dropped by 80%.

This article is included here because it may be helpful for many. However, this is NOT an endorsement by the Stuttering Foundation.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, was well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones spoke some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin, the basketball sensation who was named to the NBA’s All Star Team in 2004, joins other famous people who stutter in a new brochure. The brochure - which unfolds into a small poster - is available free of charge from The Stuttering Foundation.

The poster is intended to give children and adults who stutter inspiration as they grapple with their speech disorder.

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.