Could life begin by joining BSA? One year on, Martin McGibbon says he has never looked back.

I found the BSA last year through its website, and I never thought that anything like this existed. It is really encouraging to see the BSA's determination and drive that is taking stammering into the 21st century in a far more positive way than for most of the 20th.

My first article in Speaking Out last year reduced my wife to tears, as it contained some things I had never discussed with her, such as the bad time I had at school. Writing this article did so much for me.

A lot of what I see on the BSA website message board and the like is sheer desperation from young people facing an uncertain future with work and relationships. One young person posted a message saying that they would love to work in a call centre. I have seen a few call centres and they are not great places to work, but to be able to think that you could work there is a logical thought.

I am proud in a way that I have made it to where I am on my own, but disappointed at the lack of help I had on the way. At school, the teachers could not understand why my marks were so bad and my IQ was so high. An unhappy child does not work hard at school, one with a stammer has an even greater problem.

I have taken the bull by the horns, have volunteered to take part in a programme for the BBC, communicated with and contacted fellow stammerers by phone and e-mail and even sent BSA Christmas cards to friends and colleagues; I have truly 'come out'.

I will be 49 next month. It has taken this long for me to be open about my stammer. I will never talk about it in depth to non-stammerers, other than to my wife and close family, but I will now tell people if I am having a 'bad day', and they will know exactly what I mean, and when meeting new people I will say: "oh, I am sorry, but I get stuck on certain words".

One year on from joining BSA things are going well for me. I met a guy who works very near me in Leicester who stammers and has been to the BSA conference twice. We have shared experiences and provided each other with encouragement. This was the first time I had actually met another person who stammers - what an experience.

I really do feel that if I did not have a stammer, I would not be the person I am today, and I would regret that.

So keep an eye open, I am here to stay!!

Martin McGibbon is a Director of Berkeley Burke (UK) Ltd

From the Summer 2003 edition of Speaking Out