Six brave people took their first step in starting their journey to overcome their stutter from the comfort of their own homes. The course commenced at 7 pm on Wednesday 3rd November and finished up at 8.00 pm on Saturday 6th November.
David McNally and Cormac King instructed the course with Sharon Gavillet as Zoom Controller. This was our third course this year incorporating Zoom and our first bringing back face to face interaction with the new members meeting coaches for a Street Contacts Challenge. As always, the months of endless preparation put in by all of the instruction team was admirable to create the environment for these six new members to finally gain control of their speech.
It was clear on Wednesday night that nerves were high with the new members, their old habits of a lifetime were still very strong but their determination would turn out to be greater. When starting out, the Regional Director of the Ireland Region, Joe O Donnell, was heard saying “Who are we [McGuire Programme]? We’re just like you, we’re people who stutter.” You could get a sense of exactly the type of support these new members were going to experience over the 4 days of course and from now on in their journey to articulate, eloquent speech.
There was great hope for something more and they all worked extremely hard to ensure their new habits become stronger. “It is great to have so much support, I feel like I can start living the life I always wanted to, with freedom,” one new member said.
Around thirty coaches and members attended the course to help the new students, ensuring they got the best possible start.
By Saturday evening, the six new students’ transformations were unbelievable, and for the first time we saw beaming smiles as all of their hard work came together. They’re now in the driving seat, having learnt the techniques and support to continue to win against their stutter and live life on their terms.
Huge congratulations to each of the new members and we look forward to seeing them transform their lives for years to come. We will be with you all, every step of the way.
Joe, David, Cormac & Sharon
