Owen Westwood

Hi there, my name is Owen and I’m from Melbourne, Australia. Originally from Portsmouth, UK, I immigrated to Australia in 1995 with my parents.

I joined the McGuire Programme in July 2013 at 22 years old after reaching a new low regarding my stutter. I was over it. Over feeling trapped, over the self-hate & other negative emotions and over not “having a voice”.

Seven years on and my life has completely changed. I am married with a beautiful daughter and have never experienced this level of freedom. I have completed my staff training on the Programme and am now a Certified Primary Coach.

Some personal achievements on my journey to eloquence so far are public speaking in front of crowds 100+ strong, making phone calls without fear & being able to say my vowels and reception speech at my wedding without holding back. (In fact, my wedding day has been my “best” speaking day to date!)

I’ve also made it a mission to spread awareness of the McGuire Programme & stuttering/stammering in general. I’ve appeared on A Current Affair on TV with the programme, initiated and been in two newspaper articles & have done a radio interview. Imagine that…I went from somebody who wouldn’t even talk about my stutter with my family to appearing on national TV talking about it.

However, I’m still on my journey. I need to make sure I work hard on my speech every day and keep my friends, family & workmates involved to help hold me accountable.

The McGuire Programme has been and is truly life-changing. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it and can’t wait to see what else I can achieve in the future.

“Keep moving forward…No holding back”

Bye for now.