The last McGuire Programme UK North course of the the year was recently held in Stirling, Scotland, 6th - 10th November 2019.  Seven brave souls turned up to face their fears and to learn how to control and, ultimaltely, conquer their stutters.  The new students were a mixed group - six males and one female.  Two of the new students were under 18 years of age.  Ages ranged from 14 to 40.

What a great end to courses in the UK South for 2019.   14 new students joined the programme, working hard and showing commitment to change their speaking personality.

An East Kilbride man who suffered from a crippling stammer for most of his life is now helping others to make their voices heard.

Iain Gray, from Whitehills, a coach with the McGuire Programme, has helped numerous people on their path to finding ways to deal with their stammer, including former Scotland rugby captain Kelly Brown.

But Iain’s own journey hasn’t been easy – from struggling to say “I do” at his own wedding to having the confidence to say his own name.

Everybody stutters, everybody stumbles over their own words now and again, it’s normal. To the majority of people, stuttering is a rare occasion which usually happens when one is feeling over-emotional, however, for 1% of the population, it’s something dealt with each and every day.

When Michael Batley dropped out of university in 2003 he feared his stutter had got the better of him.

Unable to complete the presentations or communicate with course mates on his advertising degree at Huddersfield University, he walked away not knowing what life would offer him.

His struggles did not end.