What a great piece by Ross Coleman about embarking on his speech therapy programme for stammering (My cultural awakening: Jonathan Groff inspired me to overcome my stammer, 6 December). Coleman was inspired by the example of Jonathan Groff, who is not a stammerer, tackling something head-on.
The McGuire Programme that Coleman signed up for seems to have helped many people. While Groff served as his inspiration, there are no shortage of actual stammerers who have compelling stories to motivate people as they navigate the choppy waters caused by their speech.
The Stuttering Foundation’s website has an intriguing “celebrity corner” with biographical articles of famous stammerers including Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis, and BB King. There is no shortage of British people covered, with articles on stammering Britons such as Rowan Atkinson, Emily Blunt, Noel Gallagher, Gareth Gates, Paul Young, Jonathan Miller, Robert Donat, Philip Larkin, Lewis Carroll, W Somerset Maugham, and Charles Darwin. All these highly accomplished individuals can only serve to inspire and motivate young stammerers.
Peter Botha
Durban, South Africa
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