beat it
the boy with the stammer (2/3)
21.00–22.00
Continuing tonight on Five is a series of documentaries following members of the public as they attempt to overcome a variety of psychological difficulties. Tonight’s instalment follows schoolboy Cameron’s attempt to defeat the stammer that cripples his self-confidence and prevents him from expressing himself. Ever since he could speak, 13-year-old Cameron has stammered. When he began to talk “in a jumbled-up way”, his mother took him to a speech therapist. She was told he would hopefully grow out of it – but he has not. Cameron is articulate when he can force the words out, but most of the time, he explains, “my throat gets so tight, nothing gets out.” Cameron talks candidly about his “stressful” and “disheartening” condition: “It’s kind of like a parasite,” he says. “It just won’t leave.”
Before his last birthday, Cameron told his mum, Jane, that he did not want any presents – just a new voice box so he could speak normally. Then, he said, he would “have so much confidence it would be unbelievable.” Determined to help her son beat this problem, Jane has enrolled him on an intensive residential course where teachers use a breathing technique to help people manage their stammers. The Starfish course is run by Anne Blight, who explains that the technique of “costal breathing” is simple and well established: “It’s not rocket science,” she says.
The technique centres on stammerers taking a deep breath before speaking to help them get the words out. The first morning of the course finds Cameron in a room full of adults, who introduce themselves by recording a piece to video. Many of the participants struggle to speak, and for Jane, sitting at the back of the room, it is a heart-rending experience: “Lots of people there seem to have struggled and ended up not doing what they wanted to do with their lives – and all because of a speech problem,” she says. The afternoon session sees the stammerers begin using the breathing technique, with belts tied around their chests to help them inhale deeply. Using a “buddy system”, participants stand in a line facing their partner and practise saying their names. With the help of his partner Matt – himself an ex-stammerer – Cameron seems to make rapid progress: “It’s weird,” he says. “It’s actually working!” Jane is equally impressed: “I didn’t really appreciate how effective it would be and how quickly people could pick it up,” she says.
Day two finds Cameron suffering a crisis of confidence, as the sudden hope of life without a stammer temporarily overwhelms him. But with encouragement from Anne and Matt, Cameron is able to stand up in front of the group and briefly introduce himself. It is a watershed moment for the lad, who finds renewed confidence in the afternoon session, when the stammerers confront one of their greatest fears: a live telephone call.
Using a speakerphone in front of the group, Cameron successfully calls directory enquiries – and is so enthused by his achievement that he volunteers to do it again. Cameron ends the day on a high, being the second person to stand up before the room and express his gratitude to the course organisers. “I’m a very proud, happy young boy,” he says. “You’re all a great inspiration to me and hopefully we can help many other people like us.” Cameron finishes the course determined to build on what he has accomplished: “It may not be a cure,” he says. “But it helps a hell of a lot!”
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