Last June, Heidi King went to New York to try the SpeechEasy device, not knowing if it would work. She was lucky, and gives a valuable insight into how the device works in everyday life. Andrew Harding reports.

Picture: Eastern Daily Press.

"At my assessment this week, I only stammered on one syllable in 70, compared to one in three," Heidi said. She is clearly delighted with the result and proud of her achievement in the first few weeks of using her SpeechEasy. While wearing it in one ear, she hears her voice delayed by a fraction of a second and at a different pitch. Research to date indicates that the device seems to work better for people whose stammer is more severe.

Before purchasing the SpeechEasy (the money was raised through charity donations and sponsorship), Heidi was assessed by a speech and language therapist and a mould was taken of her ear canal. When the device arrived two weeks later, it was carefully adjusted to give her the best effect - essential if it is to work properly.

"Almost as soon as the battery was inserted, I felt the struggle of speaking quite literally lift from my shoulders," Heidi said at the time. "The enormity of it did not hit me straight away. It was only after 15 minutes when a single stammer hadn't crept in that I broke down in tears and realized for the first time in my life I didn't have to actively try to get my words out. It has had a much better impact on my speech and on my life than I thought it would. It has given me a lot more freedom, a lot less tension in my body, and many more options. Now I go out of my way to speak to people and I'm not exhausted at the end of the day from speaking. Its bliss! When I take the device out, I miss it!"

Using the SpeechEasy also cleared the way for Heidi to use some of the fluency techniques she learned when younger, but had not been able to use fully.

"Even though the effect at times feels effortless, I have to learn to keep tuned into the device and concentrate on modifying any stammers as they appear, rather than pushing through them all the time. I felt like I had to learn to speak another language (the language of fluency), that I have had little experience in using."

Heidi's speech therapist, Mary Kingston said that she was doing extremely well at using the device effectively.

"I was very moved by her joy and delight in speaking more freely than she has ever done before," she said. "At times, there are almost no stammers. When the communication pressures are greater and the stammers return, it is not anything like as strongly as before. SpeechEasy has made it much easier for Heidi to modify her speech using any conventional speech techniques. I think the device can be seen as a supplement to therapy, not least because her way of relating and communicating to people has changed. The long term effects are not yet well documented in everyday life and we need people like Heidi to document this."

While Heidi said it can be frustrating that it doesn't help as much in noisy or more stressful situations, she emphasised that the work she puts in is worthwhile, for example in two well received presentations at work.

"I need to concentrate on the sound in my ear and get a better feel for how it works. It is a lovely change from having to concentrate on getting the words out. The good thing is when it gets harder, my speech doesn't break down totally. I still have much more control than I would have had without it."

Liberating though it is, Heidi was nervous about how people would react to her more fluent speech. She needn't have worried. Most people didn't seem to notice until she removed the device to show what her speech was like without it. Even some of her friends forgot to say anything until she prompted them. It was a reminder of how people can quickly adjust to who we are and how we sound. "It shows that they accept me for who I am - Heidi King."

From the Autumn 2006 edition of Speaking Out, pages 4-5

More information: Electronic fluency devices for SpeechEasy and other altered auditory feedback devices