For years I let my stammer rule my life – not anymore
DAD’S NOW A SPEECH COACH FOR MCGUIRE PROGRAMME
WHEN David Conley became a dad, it should have been the best time of his life.
But the 45-year-old, who had a debilitating stammer, faced one of his most agonising moments when he was asked the name of his baby boy.
“I could not get his name out,” said David. “I really did go from being on cloud nine to rock bottom.
“It was at that point I knew I had to do something about it.”
The dad, who grew up in Wallsend, developed a stammer from around the age of five.
By and large, he coped well during his school days but he shied away from speaking out in class and often begged his mum to let him stay off when he knew he would have to speak publicly.
Later, he dropped out of studying chemistry at Leeds University because he couldn’t face doing presentations in front of his peers.
However, he later graduated from Northumbria University and went on to get a job as an analytical chemist.
David, of Cochrane Park, Newcastle, said: “I just had a negative opinion of myself as someone with a stutter, even though I was doing well at school.
“I could not really express myself properly and I always thought I was second class. I was my own worst enemy.”
When he got married to wife Lynn, he was unable to make the obligatory speech and, therefore, the couple opted for a low-key event split over two days.
The wedding ceremony, with just a few family members, took place on one day and the reception was held the following day, but there were no speeches.
David also admits that he used to go to a hairdressers in Newcastle but for years he gave them the wrong name.
“I couldn’t say David,” he added. “I just said Steve instead because that was easier to say. For years, I was Steve to the people there.”
David, who works as a scientist at Essentra Scientific Services in Jarrow, tried a number of things to deal with his stutter, including speech therapy, but they didn’t work and he chose to muddle along in life.
However when his son Evan, now 10, was born, he vowed to get rid of the speech impediment.
And he found the perfect opportunity to seek help when he came across people from the McGuire Programme in Newcastle.
He then travelled to Dundee in Scotland for a four-day course and finally found a way to control his stammer. He even went on to become a coach and instructor for the scheme in the North East.
The McGuire Programme hit the headlines this week after its work was featured in ITV documentary School for Stammerers.
David said: “I thought the documentary was amazing. They did a fantastic job. It was by far the best portrait of what we do and captured the process involved.
“The McGuire Programme was life-changing for me. The transformation was unbelievable and I now do things I couldn’t before.
“I never used the telephone. At work, I used to just go past ringing phones and wouldn’t answer them. I was very quiet and very nervous. I can communicate effectively now. Saying my son’s name is not a problem any more.”
An open day for the McGuire programme takes place at the Royal Station Hotel, in Newcastle, on January 20, 2pm to 4pm, and the Newcastle course will be held at the same hotel from February 7 to 11. For more information, visit www.mcguireprogramme.com.