I wanted to let you know how moved I was by the article on stammering. Heidi is a wonderful person and my eyes filled with tears at the results that little device had on her speech. What a lovely person she is. Paul

I have had a stammer since i was around 4 or 5 years old and i have tried numerous treatment to cure it. I struggle everyday with my own voice and battle to get my words out when in certain environments.

I have always taken easy jobs and jobs where I don't have to speak to anyone unless I have too. I have just completed a website designer course which I am quiet talented in. I want to get a good career for my family and don't want to battle with myself anymore. When I am asked a question by a stranger or someone in a senior role, my entire body tenses up and I struggle to breath as I try to fight the words out of my mouth.

Unlike Heidi my stammer is not constant, I am fluent when with friends and family but the telephone is my biggest challenge, I have had so many people put the telephone down on me, I have run out of numbers to count, I must sound like a crank caller, but all I am trying to do is get my first word out.

I was ridiculed at school and my teachers always used to get me to stand and talk in front of the whole class because they thought it would help me. Problem was - it broke me apart physically and mentally. It actually made me worse. When I was younger, my face used to contort when I stammered but luckily that has surpassed now.

My wife told me about the Inside Out programme about Heidi and I have been searching the net for the speech easy device. I have been looking for a different approach for my speech and I hope this is the key. I'm not looking for a cure - I am just looking for an aid to help me get my life the way I want it, not my speech controlling my life. The problem with a stammer is that so many people don't understand that stammerers are not stupid but we are tarred with this brush 99% of the time. Nevertheless I will be saving for this device now as I have something to look forward too, Hope. Craig Whittaker, Kent

Would it be at all possible to forward my best wishes to Heidi and her family. After watching Inside Out last night I felt that Heidi is an extremely brave young woman and I would like to let her know my feelings. Tony

I watched the episode about Heidi, and I really felt for her, because it brought back terrible memories of my own affliction which made my childhood so difficult. My case is slightly different, but the cause of the stammer is just the same. All children learn to speak by copying their parents and others around them. My father unfortunately had a motorbike accident in his younger days, and the shock to his system caused him to have a stammer. I copied that when I was beginning to speak, at a similar age to Heidi.

I know she doesn't want pity, I never did either. All I wanted was to speak properly and not to feel left out. Luckily my dad could draw and he taught me to draw too... and that gave me an outlet when I was a toddler, a way to express my thoughts. But I was still frustrated by it... and sometimes felt embarrassed by it, or angry if anyone laughed - and I had moments of deep unhappiness over it. Unlike Heidi, I wasn't angry if someone finished my sentence - just relieved that the moment was over!!!!

Later in life my father had more or less gotten over it and was ok – but I had a terrible childhood and as I became more aware of my problem, I devised a way of speaking to limit the effects as much as possible. I did this by trying to think one or two words ahead and choose a word that I could say. Another trick was to hold my breath - that also sometimes worked. Naturally I was a target at school and was bullied – I truly hope that Heidi was spared that.

But later in my teens I started to overcome the problem – and that was just from gaining confidence and learning to speak with calmness and to speak a difficult word easily by turning the first sound my lips uttered, into that word. That proved to me I could beat it the affliction.

In the story, Heidi had the ear piece fitted and she also said she felt calm. This is the key to overcome this affliction, by the combination of feeling calm and relaxed when talking with others and being confident. For those of us who have a stammer, instead of butterflies in the stomach, or our arms or legs feeling weak – this occurs in the vocal chords. Then when we have to speak to others, the nervousness affecting the vocal chords becomes magnified .. because we know we’ll stutter, we worry about it, and it adds to the stress we already feel.

When my mother was at school, a friend of hers in her class, also a girl, had a terrible stammer. But, when she spoke to my mother, she never once stammered. That’s probably because my mother made her feel relaxed.

Then there is the comedy star Michael Bentine. He had a stammer as bad as Heidi’s... but when he was famous on TV he never stammered, because he’s already beaten it by that time in his life

I truly believe that anyone with a stammer can re-learn to speak properly, and when there is improvement, there is elation, more confidence, you feel more relaxed and you don’t think about it so much. That makes speaking easier, you’re more relaxed, and you keep on improving.

I’m not sure if speech therapists are addressing the problem correctly – because it seems to me they concentrate on trying to get a person to speak the words in a different way. It’s true that if you repeat words parrot fashion... or sing, you will never stutter (Gareth Gates is one example of that). Singing makes the vocal chords more relaxed. I believe this was how Michael Bentine learnt to beat his stammer. Heidi could try that too.

Maybe the only person who can help her overcome the stammer, is someone with a similar affliction, who understands what she is going through, someone who knows how she is feeling, because it’s all about the state of mind – the less she worries about it, the more relaxed she’LL be. If Michael Bentine won – so can she... but she needs the right person to help her, not fancy gadgets (as wonderful as they are)... the only cure is by curing the worry, the fear, the nervousness, and the stress from speaking.

I hope she eventually beats this... and my heart goes out to her, because I’ve felt those emotions that she feels on a daily basis. Martyn Sherwood, Rugby

Heidi's is such an inspiring story - I'm so glad that science has been able to come up with this stunning device that can revolutionise people's lives for just a few thousands of pounds.

When I was younger, I used to dream of such a 'magic cure' as I had a stammer like Heidi's up until I was about 17. With the help of Fortune along with a myriad of techniques I've picked up over the years, I've managed to erode the effects of my speech impediment so that it is now - I'm 22 - barely noticeable, so I've been told.

I'm sure you'll hear many stories of hardship, especially in the school playground, but I'd like to share what I see as I turning point in my experience.

My parents and many of my speech therapists used to try to comfort me, as a young boy, by assuring me that I'd "grow out of it" in years to come. But when you're 10 years old and you can't even get involved with your mates' conversation because they're talking too fast, this seems an unrealistic and empty promise.

However, as I reached my mid-to-late teens I realised that there was no point waiting to passively grow out of my stammer, I had to 'outgrow' it myself. This meant pushing myself so that I would become more than just 'that guy who talks like a machine gun'.

One day at school my English teacher asked me if I wanted to read out a piece of my work as an example to the others'. Some kid from the back of the class piped up, saying something along the lines of, 'Yeah I want to hear every word' - the joke being that if I read out the essay, it'd take waste the rest of the lesson. The usual ripple of laughter followed. But for the first time I felt such a royal indigence that this fool gained the appreciation of his peers from cracking a really dull and, quite frankly, a gutless joke whereas I should have taken centre stage for my top-quality work.

So read the whole essay I did, every single word, and I stammered uncontrollably. It took ages but I didn't care. My work was the best in the class - for once it was me taking control and I felt a deep sense of victory: no longer was I just 'that kid with a stutter' but I was 'the clever kid with the stutter'. I felt that there was something more distinctive about me than just my disability.

As all sufferers will know, stammering is a relentless vicious circle. You stammer so you tense up and stammer more. You get nervous because you're stammering and then because you're stammering you get more nervous. But it also works the other way around: once you gain more confidence, you speak more clearly and when you speak clearly you become more confident.

It's a cliche, but my experiences have taught me to believe in myself. Only the conviction that as an individual you are more than just 'a stammerer' gives you the confidence to stammer in front of people and not feel shamed. Once you have pride in yourself - with or without your stammer - then you can relax and this is half the battle to beating it.

Obviously I understand that these platitudes are not the definitive answer and a lot of work has to go in to methods and techniques of generating fluency. But in retrospect this moment of self-recognition was the turning point in a long struggle. Since then I have gained a first from Oxford (in English) and have even become (relatively) comfortable with speaking in front of large groups.

Although I still have the odd relapse, I'm not embarrassed anymore and even laugh along when someone makes a joke. Whether you need a SpeakEasy device or not, I believe that a strong will and self-belief are essential to managing life with such an impediment - and I congratulate Heidi in showing these qualities with graceful and good-humoured abundance in your programme.

Well done Heidi, you are an inspiration to many people out there who are suffering in silence. Kevin Crowley

My name is Christine Meredith. I have stammered from an early age, and have had various attempts at clinical speech therapy throughout my life in order to improve my fluency. Some of it has been useful. I am now 45 and still struggle at times to communicate effectively, verbally.

I am of the opinion that anything that can help us stammerers make speaking easier should be considered. After all, if you are impaired visually, you are prescribed spectacles or contact lenses. If deaf, you are usually fitted with a hearing aid.

I see no reason why people who stammer should not try these devices, although I know that most speech therapists do not promote them when discussing a course of therapy with a client.

I have been writing a book for the past couple of years about what it's like to have a stammer. (Hopefully it may get published one day!). Stammering is not just about getting stuck on your words sometimes, but is a serious communication problem that affects you deeply inside. It is an ever present torment. Simple verbal tasks that fluent people take for granted such as answering the telephone and saying "Hello" can cause so much anxiety.

People who stammer do not only have to deal with their speech impediment, but also with the uncertainty surrounding stammering, an affliction that is still very much misunderstood.

And no one has yet found the key that unlocks this complex disorder in its entirety. Christine Meredith

My name's Florence and I've been a stammerer since the age of nine. I speak fluently when I speak to myself but stammer severely when I speak to people. It's worse over the phone or in public.

I have attempted speech therapy twice. It seems to work slightly at the sessions but when I'm faced with the real world, its back to square one.

It has affected the way I communicate and feel about myself. I feel like the weird person, the one who never says much, the one who guys will be ashamed to date etc And it's not because I don't have an intelligent contribution to make to any discussion but because I calculate in my mind how much time I will waste trying to prove or state a point and maybe not end up getting the message across because of the huffing and puffing and sheer embarrassment.

Over the years, I have grown extremely busy with everything that focusing on my speech is now secondary and I think that has put less pressure on me. However, the fears are still there.

I still refuse to answer phone calls in the office because I'm afraid I will spend a minute trying to say "Hello, Siemens Energy Services, Florence Speaking, How can i help?".

I have tried it enough times to embarrass the caller, me and the rest of the people in the office who have heard me. Regards.
Florence Osoka

! am a 60 year old man and I think I started stammering when I was about 8 years old. I have always believed it was caused by an abusive female teacher I had at that time. I had an uncle who had a very severe stutter, thankfully mine was not as bad.

I have had several attempts at therapy, the most successful was when I was about 35 - it was an intensive course lasting 2 weeks.
It was called Smooth Speech and involved the participants
starting off speaking very slowly and smoothly, gradually moving up to normal speed.

It was reasonably successful, but required a lot of practice and perseverance. Unfortunately most of the benefits were soon lost on me, but I sometimes try and apply the principles and they do help.

I have generally found most people to be considerate and understanding. I sometimes wonder if stuttering should rank among the other various disabilities. What do others think ?
Ray

What a most humbling story! Absolutely marvellous transformation and I feel so proud of Heidi and wish her every success not only today but throughout her lifetime!! Eddie Connell

Heidi. I am surprised that your dad didn't cry in the therapists office, since both my husband and I had tears in our eyes. Well done on achieving so much and keep going girl, you have what it takes. LJ Annandale

I used to stammer really badly and I learnt to control it by looking at my mouth while talking into a mirror. Any time I talk, I remember to think about my mouth and the words. Now I hardly stammer.

Great story about Heidi and I wish her well, wish I had this device 30 years ago! Lulu

Just watched the feature on Heidi. I wish her all the luck for the future. Her new earpiece was remarkable. J Leigh on Sea, Essex

I can’t tell you how excited I am from the possibility that there could be an end to my "secret anguish". My condition is not as severe as Heidi’s but it still can be very embarrassing especially when people burst into fits of laughter on hearing me speak. It is particularly pronounced when I become tensed from fear of stammering especially in public situations and during job interviews particularly phone interviews.

I have been to a neuro-linguistic programmer in Harley Street and tried all sorts but Speech Easy appears to work really well. I don’t have the money now but I will start saving towards it. I just can’t wait to be free of this "plague". I wish we had it free on the NHS but in the absence of that I will look to try it privately sometime.

That was really brave of Heidi and I wish her all the best with the “little man”. Simon, London

I've stammered the biggest part of my life starting at a very young age so I do know what Heidi has been through in her life up to the present date.

I went to speech therapist from a young age, they only helped slightly... but I still had a bad stammer. At the age of 15 I attended a course in Burton upon Trent for about 10 days, I can't remember the chap's name who took the course but he was excellent. He had a stammer when he was young and developed his own methods of treatment in the speech therapy profession.

Around 1971 I and several lads attended this course, coming from many places and most had severe stammers a lot worst than mine. He taught us relaxation, being tense is a root of stammering, if you have one.

Another is speech he called "Unspee". This was to miss out the first letter of a word that gave you problems. Example is the word "What", say "hot" gradually increasing the "w" sound as you go on. Using this technique we all started to string sentences together without stammering.

One main thing is staying in time, a stammerer does not stammer when they sing as singing is a continuation of words. Therefore, all stammerers should sing their hearts out, this relieves tension as well.

Using Unspee and keeping a constant time similar to singing you can speak without stammering, we should know as we did it with the help of this man.

He also taught us how to be confident on the phone which can be a problem with some stammerers, this included the same techniques as before.

One thing is to concentrate, that could be looking a person in the eyes or mouth and keeping your concentration on those focal points while speaking.

Us stammerers have a lot to say, sometimes far to much than our vocal chords can cope with, so, SLOW DOWN it does make it easier. Also I noticed that on Friday nights, after having a few drinks, I didn't stammer. Again, being relaxed is the key here again. This is in no way an excuse to drink more but to realise what makes you relaxed.

I've not stammered a lot for the past 20 years but anyone I meet who has a stammer I try to pass on my experience and knowledge, they don't believed that I had a bad stammer, but I did. If that man in Burton is still with us or his family ( I think he worked for the education department in Burton), I thank him very much for what he did for myself and many others.

Also, I once did an interview regarding stammering when I was about 9 years old with BBC Radio Sheffield. I never heard the programme, but my Gran did. I think that was my 15 minutes of fame.

Good luck Heidi, we are special people, and to all the other people who stammer have confidence, relax and let it flow. Regards.
Mark

I watched the recent Inside Out episode with great interest and was extremely happy to see the fantastic results that Heidi was able to achieve, helped by the SpeachEasy device.

I thought it very brave of her and her family to take advantage of the pioneering treatment and was warmed to see their bravery pay off.

I was hoping that you'd be able to pass on my best wishes to Heidi and her family for the future and congratulate her for all the hard work she has done in working towards conquering her stammer. Richard Gardner

I was most interested by your article this evening on BBC TV.
I have been a 'sufferer' for some 60+ years. I am a company director and do not let this problem worry me unduly during my business matters, but nevertheless, I am always aware and more so aware that others are watching me in private life.

More than often I will let my wife do the talking rather than myself, eg in restaurants and the like. I get really upset when telephoning and the party at the other end (unknown to me) starts to laugh or make comments and mimic my stammer. At 65 years of age I should be able to cope with this nonsense but nevertheless it still hurts.

Therapy and hypnosis in my teens did not help - I live with the situation but it would be great to get rid of the stammer! However, I must be grateful that this is a small problem compared with the problems of many others - I can shut up and no-one is the wiser! The possible solution shown on your programme is most interesting. Stephen Farrington