Heidi King is passionate about people who stammer having a wide range of options beyond conventional therapy. Before leaving for New York to try the new SpeechEasy device, she told Speaking Out why she had decided to try it. Andrew Harding reports.

It has been a very busy few months for Heidi, of Norwich. As far as we know, she will be the first person from the UK to have the SpeechEasy device fitted in the USA. What started with a call from a local journalist quickly led to national media attention. She is currently (early June) in New York to have the device fitted in the hope that it might just make it easier to speak.

"Years of speech therapy have certainly helped, and I fully accept that I will always stammer. But I still have a glimmer of hope that a new form of treatment will help, which is why I decided to try the SpeechEasy device," she said.

Her speech therapist, Mary Kingston said that even a small improvement would make a real difference, and was optimistic that Heidi would benefit.

Like Mudiaga, Nathan and Joanne from the Channel 4 documentary, hiding her stammer, which can be severe at times, just wasn't an option. But that's only a small part of her story. Despite all the publicity, and the ease with which she appears to have handled it, at heart Heidi said she just wants to get on with her life.

"I would prefer not to have all the attention. Yet the more people who hear my story, the more people who will understand, so it does benefit me in a way," she said.

"It is my choice, as much as I can make it. In a world that puts pressure on people to have fluent speech, how can someone really decide if they want therapy? In an ideal world, people's attitudes should allow people who stammer or have other disabilities, to participate in life to the fullest and reach their potential, irrespective of their disability."

When speaking with Heidi, she seemed so completely accepting of her speech that I asked her if she had ever wished she could stop stammering. "Oh yes!" she said emphatically. It was during secondary school that problems started to creep in, and her speech became more of a problem. She reacted by developing a tough mental armour to protect the person inside. "I always used to say 'it's only a stammer' and just get on with my life. But each time I took a knock, I felt a bit smaller inside."

Then last year a larger knock forced a change in both her direction and outlook. "I was quite low for a few months because of what happened. As a result, I dismantled my armour, looked at each piece - at each attitude and my responses - then rebuilt a softer and more flexible protective shell," she said.

One of the most striking things to me was the degree of control Heidi has over a situation - far more than someone who tries to hide their stammer. It was a fascinating perspective I hadn't considered before. She uses her hands, eye contact, facial expressions and charm to communicate. "If I'm out ordering drinks and someone interrupts me, I stop them, and ask to continue. Nine times out of 10, they are very apologetic," she said.

Work has not always been easy, and Heidi said it would have been much easier to get a nice quiet job where she didn't speak. Thankfully, she is putting her talents and engaging personality to good use as a project coordinator for a large charity in Norwich - a job she loves.

"They are absolutely great. For example, I designed and ran a training session recently. I had someone help with the speaking, under my direction, and the feedback was very positive."

From the Summer 2006 edition of Speaking Out, page 5

See also:
Electronic fluency devices for SpeechEasy and other DAF devices

Internet link: Daily Telegraph article (17 July 2006)