Having defeated his own stutter, Stephen decided to use his new found knowledge to help other
stammerers.
Fellow stutterer Catriona Stewart, aged 22, of Hollywood, was looking forward to seeing the film and said she hoped it would raise awareness of the feelings of rejection
stammerers face.
Emma went along to an open day to learn more about the programme and after listening to
stammerers who were well on the way to conquering their affliction decided to go on one of the McGuire courses.
Most people take speech for granted, but communication is an ordeal for most
stammerers. When buying a bus ticket, some
stammerers have been known to ask to go to Cardiff instead of Swansea, so as not to stammer on saying Swansea or others might order a restaurant dish they don't actually want because they can't pronounce the one they do.
Also known as stuttering, stammering is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolonged sounds, syllables, words or phrases, coupled with involuntary silent pauses during which the
stammerer is unable to produce sounds.
Founded in 1994, each of its trainers is a recovering
stammerer.
THE McGuire Programme was founded in 1994 and is unique because every trainer is a recovering
stammerer themselves.
I could bore for Britain on my stories of growing up as a
stammerer. Using the phone or buying anything was a nightmare.
As a
stammerer he has a dread of public speaking - but his wartime subjects need to hear his voice.
So I became a very covert
stammerer. I'd do anything to hide it.
Stammerer Stephen Hill, 31, of Birmingham, will hold a free open day in Huddersfield on March 12 to teach sufferers the key to fluency techniques.
King George VI, described as "arguably Britain's most famous
stammerer", made up the top 10 in the poll by Ouch, the BBC's disability website.
The course is being run by schoolteacher Jason Jones - a former
stammerer who cured his condition two years ago through the McGuire Progamme, which uses a breathing technique to control the ailment.
The 19-year-old, Bradford-born
stammerer is now fully qualified to teach other people how to overcome the problem and can expect to earn up to pounds 500 a week.
The 22-year-old has become the highest-profile
stammerer in the UK after missing out to Will Young in the talent show.
