Lovett Helping People Who Stutter Defeat It
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Bermuda resident Lee Lovett says an estimated 80 million people are “stutterers” – otherwise known as people who stutter [PWS] – the trauma leaving many with a negative perception of themselves.
Mr Lovett knows more than most how stuttering can affect a person’s quality of life, relationships and adversely influence job performance and opportunities.
A successful speaker, attorney and businessman, he battled stuttering for 25 years before finding ways to defeat it.
He has considered himself “cured” of stuttering for the past 40 years and, as a labour of love, now helps people overcome their speech disorder through his free online coaching sessions.
“Like most, my stuttering was situational; that is, I stuttered in some places and not others,” Mr Lovett told Bernews. “I never stuttered at home.
“My stuttering was confined to strangers, authorities, girls, and groups. Once I started stuttering, I often could not speak at all.
“When I tried my first case in court, I could not say my name, my client’s name or much else.
“My legal career appeared to be ended that day. I was married with two sons and broke – and desperate beyond words. I hated stuttering; it made me want to die.”
The American learned self-hypnosis, gradually stumbling on methods, techniques and tools to improve the fluency of his speech and ultimately beat stuttering aged 30.
He has written eight stuttering-related books and conducted more than 7,000 coaching sessions for hundreds of people who stutter worldwide.
“I included my email in my book [Stuttering & Anxiety Self-Cures: Become the Boss of Your Mind in 2016] and invited readers to contact me for help,” said Mr Lovett, who helped create the World Stop Stuttering Association [WSSA].
“For the past eight years, I have coached several people who stutter most days, seven days a week.
“Over 90 per cent of them stopped their stuttering, less than five per cent relapsed, and those that did regained their fluency.
“This is neither a business nor an ego trip for me. I have given and give my full-time efforts to coaching stutterers.”
Mr Lovett said his solutions to stop stuttering are grounded in neuroscience and include “twice-daily mind-training treatments”, “crutches” and “speech plans” to avoid stuttering in pressure situations.
“In brief, we teach that, to stop stuttering, one must hear fluency and not hear dysfluency,” said Mr Lovett, an island resident since 1988.
“Most stutterers are fluent in some situations. To hear fluency, we talk about where and when we are fluent and make recordings of our fluency to play even when sleeping – endlessly retraining our minds.
“Most coaching sessions last around one hour. The purpose is to help people who stutter learn to apply our methods.
“If you stutter or know anyone who does, nearly all now have the option of living a stutter-free life.”
For more information, visit Mr Lovett’s website at worldstopstuttering.org or visit his YouTube channel @LeeLovettSpeechWhisperer
