Stutter 'plague' man thrilled to find his voice
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AN Easter Ross Man with a stutter so severe he warned his bride-to-be he would struggle to say his wedding vows has mastered a transformational technique to such a high level he is now passing his talent on to others.
Father-of-two Bryan Duff was plagued right into his 30s with a stammer so debilitating he could not say his own name.
But with his wedding day looming and the prospect of speaking in the church keeping him awake at night, he decided enough was enough and enrolled on an American-founded course called The McGuire Programme to try to turn his life around.
And the success has been so phenomenal he is now fully trained-up to help other people who stutter become articulate, well-spoken people.
He said: "I used to do anything to get the words out of my mouth; slap my head, scratch my face, rub my hands together – anything at all.
"It was like being an alcoholic. I suffered it for years. But I had to get to the point where I could say to myself ‘right Bryan, you have got a problem here – let’s start to address it’."
The 42-year-old lorry driver, who lives in Portmahomack with his wife Pamela and their two children, had a speech therapist in primary school, which made him more fluent but he drifted back to his old ways when he got to secondary school, battling to get the words out, or simply avoiding conversation.
He said: "Going through school my friends just accepted me for who I was, but growing up was very difficult.
"I would go into shops and wait for everyone to leave before I went to the till in case I couldn’t get the words out, and I’d be petrified incase someone walked in behind me because I knew they’d have to stand there for ages waiting for me to get across what I wanted to say."
Things reached crisis point the year before his wedding.
"I was dreading it," he said.
"I vowed that I was not going to say my wedding vows in the church. Of course as a couple we had many conversations about this."
So Mr Duff embarked on the four-day McGuire Programme, which changed his life.
The scheme, costing around £995, and developed in 1994 by 45-year-old American Dave McGuire, is based it on the breathing technique adopted by opera singers.
Mr Duff recalls it as "four days of hard work, having to change your way of breathing and having to totally alter your mind set".
He added: "The key to it all is you have to keep practicing what you have learned, all the time. It’s a constant battle, it gets easier but it never goes away."
He managed to say his wedding vows without a hitch but said he will never be cured.
He still has hard days with his speech, when he has to slow down and concentrate.
He added: "The good thing is through the McGuire Programme you get a lifetime of support from other people who have the same problem who can help you along the way and I’m now able to take on anything I want to using this technique and teach others."
UK north regional director Iain Mutch said Mr Duff was an excellent coach.
He said: "The thing about Bryan is he just does it day by day.
"He realises that he has got to put in the work, and the quality of his life has vastly improved.
"He is more confident and outgoing. It’s something that I see in every case and I love seeing that change in people."
Details of the McGuire Programme are online at www.mcguireprogramme.com
