About

If you’re not sure whether stammering therapy is right for you or you’re wondering what to expect, watch this video to find out more about it.

If you live within the Airedale NHS Trust area, you can refer yourself to our service. Please email Steph Burgess at airedale.stammeringtherapy@nhs.net or call 07789 945586. If you live in an area with no local NHS service for adults, then we may be able to help you obtain funding for therapy on the NHS. You can also choose to pay for the therapy yourself.

Our unique specialist teletherapy service was conceived to help people who stammer in areas where there is no local speech therapy provision or who have difficulty in accessing it. The service was trialled during 2017/18 with funding from the Health Foundation and received national recognition, winning a Guardian Public Service Award.

The therapy is delivered via videolink, which means you can access it from anywhere as long as you have a webcam and internet connection. Clients access the service using laptops, tablets and mobile phones, connecting from their home or place of work. Unlike clinic-based therapy, there’s no need to take time off work and no travel costs or parking fees.

The therapy is delivered by a highly specialist speech and language therapist and is aimed at equipping you with the skills and strategies to live successfully with your stammer. The therapy will be tailored to your personal goals, which might include feeling more in control of your speech, avoiding situations less or simply feeling better about your stammer.

If you are over 18 and interested in accessing the service, there are various options:

Ask your GP whether they can find funding to pay for you from your local clinical commissioning group (CCG). Contact us before visiting your GP as we can assist you with this process.
Ask your employer if they would pay for you.
Pay for the service yourself. The fee includes all preparation and planning and a full written summary of each session. Contact us to enquire about charges.

If you feel any of these options apply to you and you would like to refer yourself, please email Steph Burgess at airedale.stammeringtherapy@nhs.net, where we can advise on next steps.

Here are comments from some of the people who have used the service:

I have felt very comfortable using telehealth and have found it very easy to understand, see, and hear my therapist.
It’s just as good as face to face speech therapy and it’s easily accessible from your own home.
Telehealth was more convenient for me to have sessions during working hours without the added commute time if attending face-to-face.
Many times I would not even realise the fact that I was not in the same room with my therapist.

During our twelve month trial, evaluations before and after therapy showed that the average impact of stammering reduced from moderate/severe to mild/moderate. People reported feeling more confident, happier with their speech and less likely to avoid situations they might previously have avoided, e.g. making phone calls. When asked what had helped, the responses included:

Understanding why I stammer and the situations and emotions that affect it.
Learning about the mechanics of speech and being able to relate this to what is happening during moments of stammering.
Learning techniques – these can increase fluency, but also provide a safety-net effect, helping to reduce the anxiety around stammering.
Talking to other people about stammering and challenging my own assumptions about what other people might be thinking.

How did clients feel at the end of therapy?

“You help me to know I’m in control. I’m not scared any more.”
“I can do everyday things that normal people do. I used to see people chatting and think, I wish I could do that. And now I’m able to.”
“The stammer had put me in a cork bottle. Now the cork has been opened.”
“Therapy has changed the way I feel about the stammer. I don’t avoid as much and I allow myself to stammer. I am really glad I came across this.”
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. You gave me the confidence.”

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