Practising with Skype

Remigiusz Rozycki uses Skype to practise his speech, and talk with people who stammer around the world.

Remigiusz Rozycki Benefits of Skype free both one-to-one and conference calls worldwide, so you can find people in whichever time zone suits you, speaking any language with any degree of fluency see who's available at the time use Skype's instant messaging to arrange calls if you can't or don't want to speak at the time for whatever reason.

Earlier this year I completed an integrated therapy course at City Lit, which included stammering modification, cognitive therapy and fluency shaping.

While it can be easy to establish fluent speech in the therapy room, transferring it into the real world and maintaining the improvement long-term are usually big challenges. Post-therapy work involves not only practising the new skills in the comfort of one's room, but also desensitisation and changing the overt and covert bad habits in the outside world. As I was still very sensitive about my speech, I thought it might be worthwhile to speak to others who stammer on a regular basis for a while, as an intermediate step on my path of recovery.

I have found that the non-judgemental, patient and understanding environment provided by fellow people who stammer (PWS) is a great opportunity to practise my coping strategies, work with avoidance reduction, identify areas for improvement, build my confidence, share experiences, etc. It can also provide encouragement and emotional support.

There are several ways to get and keep in touch with fellow PWS. I took advantage of a buddy system offered by the City Lit course, and I also attend a local stammering self-help group in London. The BSA runs a telephone link scheme which I have no personal experience with. There is, however, something else that I've also been using and have found very helpful. This is Skype, a software application that allows users to make free voice calls over the internet, and - even more importantly - a large number of PWS from all over the world willing to practise just like me.

Building up contacts

I first came across them on the Mixxer (www.language-exchanges.org). There were only a few contacts publicly listed there. However, when I got in touch with one or two, it turned out to be quite a network. They shared some of their contacts with me, and passed on mine to others, with my permission. Every now and then I receive Skype "add" requests from PWS from all parts of the world and my contact list keeps growing.

I have already talked to Skype users from the UK, US, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Israel and Puerto Rico. Some of them stammer severely, some hardly at all. Some have had various types of therapy, others have had none. I talk to other PWS almost every day, and it can be anything from a quick 5 minute warm-up to an hour-long chat. I also do sessions focusing specifically on my fluency technique - vocal fold management - with a PWS from California who uses the same technique. We read word lists and do conversation exercises from our practice manuals.

Other places I made stammering Skype contacts are www.stutteringforum.com and www.stutteringcommunity.com. The latter has a separate section for Skype sessions. Apart from the usual one-to-one calls, they run more or less regular conference calls. I have participated in calls of up to 8 participants so far. We practise our techniques, exchange ideas about therapy, share our recent thoughts and experiences, or talk about things not related to stammering at all.

If it sounds interesting and you would like to join the fun, all you need is a PC with internet access, speakers or headphones, and a microphone. If you have a webcam, your chat partner will be able to see you, but it's not required.

www.skype.com

From the Winter 2009 edition of Speaking Out, page 14.