“I worked with Barbara Dahm via Skype for approximately 6 months and the result has been very significant and lasting improvements in fluency. I literally began to see results after the first session. The resulting increase in fluency has allowed me to accept professional challenges that I would have ordinarily rejected out of fear. Speaking is now fun rather than something to be avoided.
Barbara is a visionary because she sees what is hidden in plain sight, but what other therapists have ignored—the differences in how normal speakers and stutterers produce speech. Thus, Barbara’s therapy is a process of subtracting what a stutterer does to interfere with normal speech—she helps to free the normal speaker within. Barbara led me through a gentle and rewarding process of observation and exercises that made it increasingly obvious what I am doing when I stutter. She provided a clear roadmap to increased fluency. The process is fun and enjoyable; Barbara is a generous, gracious and gentle guide.
I feel fortunate beyond measure to know Barbara. She has literally helped to change my life.”
Hi Barbara,
Since we the last session, I must say that there has been a definite change in the way Josh speaks. I can’t tell you the change that has occurred. It seems like he really has just GOT IT. He has control of his speech and it has lasted well over a week. This is the longest that a notable change has been observed. Last night, he had 30 minute telephone conversation with his friend – absoultely beautiful speech.
I suppose I was waiting for the fall before emailing you again for another session. Maybe we won’t need any more – a very unusual concept in this household as Josh has needed speech therapy since he was 6 and he has just turned 14 years old.
We have really not needed to remind him to use any technique, he self corrects – this approach to his speech works. At times, I can see Josh working at using the strategies he has learnt from you – it works …. IT WORKS. He practices the strategies all the time – using it at all times – he has control – he feels in control.
Last December, I searched for an approach to Josh’s speech that would work for him – he had all the ingredients for success – interest, focus and dedication – but he needed a brilliant therapist and approach. You are unique – the long search for an approach to fluent speech that worked was worth it.
Barbara, apart from the approach to speech, it was the discussions you had with Josh about the way he feels, linking this with his speech and ability to take a different perspective on board that was also integral to the improvement.
And can I also say that Josh not only enjoyed the skype sessions, but felt respected and liked by you – so thank you for the whole package.
Forever grateful,
Ellen
Dear Barbara,
This letter is past due. I’m sorry it took so long but my husband and I, wanted to personally thank-you for the unbelievable work you put into our son, Avromie. Before we started treatments with you, we thought it would be just another try, and another large sum of money, going to waste. At our first visit, we were able to see how your idea and way of treatment just made so much sense!! Your patience and KNOWLEDGE was just a miracle for our son!! When our son does practice your techniques, it’s like, (as my husband put it), as if he swallowed some sort of pill!! Thanks again of everything.
Hi Barbara,
Here’s as promised, a review of the therapy:
Stuttering online therapy
I have been trough the online stutter therapy,
I had my first sessions for some months ago.
I chose the online therapy because,
first of all it was avialable for me -
it is available for everyone who has internet.
And the online stutter therapy is very diiferent from
other therapies.
What I learned was that my “stutter”
(we are thought in the therapy to not use the
word stutter)
was affected from
the major areas: 1) positive thinking and feelings towards
my language
2) Fosucing on my vocal chords
3) Speeking in syllables
And also, I learned that my stutter is an old habit, from producing
controlled language, in the wrong way.
The goal with the online stutter therapy is a fluent, enjoyable way of speaking.
And after 5 months of therapy I feel that being very much more the case than before, and I recommend this therapy to everyone. Just make sure you have the time for it first. If it is your goal to become fluent, and you have time for it, then I suggest this approach.
Friendly regards,
Oliver
Dear Barbara,
I need to tell you how valuable the Dynamic Stuttering Therapy program is to my students. Your approach gives students a “new” way of speaking which they can embrace and share with their families. Being in the public schools it’s often difficult scheduling students but I find my students seek out additional time to work on their speech, because of the program’s “user friendly” units/ goals. Thank you for clearly stating the goals and objectives and providing so many appropriate techniques. Your program has been extremely helpful to not only the stutterer but to families. Thank you.
Susan Abrahamson CCC/SLP
(translated from the original Hebrew testimonial)
Hi Barbara,
First of all, thank you for the online session we had. I really enjoyed talking to you and of course reviewing the natural and normal way of speaking that disappeared from me for some time. The session was very successful and I got a lot out of it. I learned a lot about myself and about the way to speak.
I understand the (treatment) approach at CTI. I know that this approach is the right one and most important the natural method of speaking.
I’m happy to share with you and help you understand the person who stutters. Even though I have always stuttered mildly, I suffered from a lack of confidence in some situations when I had to talk or express my opinions. That was certainly very frustrating and caused me discomfort and not a few times bitter disappointment.
It is absurd to say that the normal way of speaking is the natural and easy way that little children speak, without any control or “filter”. It is just speaking without thinking about how to speak; speaking the way nature meant for us to speak. As a person who stutters mildly, I absolutely know that most people who stutter monitor their speech and plan what they are going to say. This is what disrupts the speech and makes it sound unnatural, causes prolongations, ends in blocks and causes certain words and sounds to get stuck. And it’s terribly, terribly frustrating for some one who has stuttered that unfortunately people who stutter still carry have a negative stigma. The secret is to speak without any monitoring, without filters, without preparing. Simply… talk automatically so that there is a natural coordination between the brain and the whole speech system!
I still think that it is not so easy to get rid of the habit of focusing on words and doing all sorts of preparations to speak, such as changing words, prolonging words. It is really difficult for someone who has used the wrong process for speaking for many years to give up old habits and get used to speaking naturally. Making this change is not easy or simple for everyone, but it is possible and it is the only way to speak naturally without stuttering!! Practicing internal speech (speaking silently in the head) is really worthwhile. (That was what was missing for me all these years!!)
So thank you very much for helping me get back my confidence in speaking. Already, during the past few days since our session, I have felt an improvement. This is the right approach!! A great approach!!! It is the approach that gets to the source of the problem instead of the syndrome and shaping the speech.
If you would like, I would be happy to send you heartfelt recommendations so that everyone will see and will learn the importance of realizing that this is the approach that can save everyone from the problem of stuttering.
Hi Mrs. Dahm,
That hope that you have been well. I’m afraid that I have the bad habit that when I don’t respond to an e-mail right away I get busy with other things and manage to forget about it completely… Anyways, here’s my update. I have overall been relatively pleased with the progress that I have made toward consistently speaking correctly. I would say that one particularly positive point has been my attitude toward speaking situations in general.
I have gotten to the point where I really don’t worry about any speaking situations any more. I gave an approximately 10 minute speech at my brother’s wedding, in front of a few hundred people, and I was not nervous about stuttering beforehand. No doubt related to that fact, I spoke correctly pretty much the whole time and therefore was able to speak fluently. There was a long time when I would have probably declined that opportunity to speak for fear of stuttering, and if I had done it I would have worried so much and tried so hard to speak fluently that I would have spoken incorrectly and therefore stuttered a lot.
In general, I have been making progress toward speaking correctly more of the time. I still sometimes slip back into my old way of speaking, trying to use my mouth too much to shape and force out my words. I think that I’m usually pretty good about noticing when I’m doing that and then going back to speaking correctly. I’m still working on making the correct way of speaking more habitual. I hope that you have been well. I’ll keep you posted about how things go in the future.
All the best,
Daniel
Our youngest son, age 15, has had a speech problem for over 10 years. He learned to cope by developing ways of being with people but at the same time not participating. His “winning” endearing smile was his substitute for speech. While he may have been smiling on the outside, he was crying on the inside. So much of what he wanted to say and was capable of saying was closed inside him.
We enrolled our son in a recommended speech therapy program at a nationally recognized hospital with little success. Thus, when we registered him for the Dynamic Stuttering Therapy program run by Barbara Dahm, we had very modest expectations. The results, however, were dramatic and “life-changing”. The therapy process developed by Mrs. Dahm works. There are lapses, and there is a need to practice. Motivation is required to use the new way of speaking. This is not magic – but it works; it worked not only for our son, but also for all his co-participants.
It is important to add that the therapy was never perceived or felt as a burden by the participants. They enjoyed it and eagerly looked forward to each session. Anyone who has a personal problem with disfluency, or a child, friend or acquaintance with this difficulty, should definitely consider joining one of Mrs. Dahm’s groups.
Dr. Avraham Schwartzbaum
Academic Coordinator and Registrar
Neve Yerushalayim Institutions
Jerusalem, Israel
I am so happy that I had the chance to do this program. It is the most logical therapy I’ve ever seen! I feel that it is “cause and effect”, because I know that if a person who stutters develops speech correctly, fluency will follow as a natural result. After having taken part in this program, I know that it is not an inconsistent type of therapy. It’s not a question of try this or that and maybe it will help you. It teaches something specific that can work for any person who stutters under any situation.
Shawn Morrison
22 years old
Texas, USA
I had a quick look at unit 3, it looks very powerful and thoughtful, it is the core of what I need to learn. I feel very enthusiastic about tonight’s session. I really admire you, you are a genius to develop these activities related to speech generation. The theory itself is so life changing.
Online therapy participant
Hello Barbara,
I just wanted to keep you posted on my progress, and inform you that I have made real strides with my speech over the past few months. I continue working with your course 4-5 days per week, and seem to benefit most from lesson four in which the speaker must make a progression of sounds, then form sentences. I have found that slowing down when I speak, and even more so, when I think, is very key for me. And come to think of it, I can remember in the past silently reading to myself, struggling to comprehend what was on the page because I was racing past the words so quickly. I am also finding that when I consciously tell myself to slow down when speaking to others, what in fact is coming out is still much faster than other speakers. I do still exert too much effort thinking, but this probable is much less common than it once was for me. Usually when I tell myself, “sounds on the outside”, meaning, concentrating on the sounds of my surrounding environment, I find I am able to develop internal speech much more fluidly.
I still experience difficulties with the telephone. My breathing pattern changes and my muscles tense. However, progress is gradual, and is something that I will eventually work through.
What I’m trying to say Barbara, is that, on the next ballot cast for Nobel Peace Prize candidates… I’m voting for you!
Nathan
Until now, I have been to many different therapies and none of them really helped. My speech got worse from day to day. When I arrived at CTI I discovered the principles of speech production. The therapy actually doesn’t deal with how to produce fluent speech. Rather it deals with how to produce speech like everybody else. After only a short time I began to see results and after only a few days, people did not recognize me because my speech was fluent. Dynamic Stuttering Therapy is an easy and pleasant therapy, but it requires hard work. It’s not a magic cure. It requires a lot of practice but every small practice is important in order to succeed. I think that everyone who will put in effort and practice will reach the same results that I did.
Yoni Herling
15 years old
Jerusalem, Israel
My name is Ofir Levi. I did Dynamic Stuttering Therapy about three years ago. This course changed my life from end to end. Before the course, I was closed and very shy. Now people ask me if I ever stop speaking. Your program did so much for my life. I enjoy every minute and I’m sure that your course played a big part in that.
Ofir Levi
20 years old
Rishon Leziyon, Israel
Before I underwent Dynamic Stuttering Therapy, I felt inferior to other people. As therapy progressed, I acquired self-confidence and self-consciousness. Now I don’t even think about words as I speak. Speaking has become fun. The therapy provided me with all the necessary tools to produce correct, fluent speech.
Elad
18 years old
Haifa, Israel
I am pleased to say, that like so many others, I have found success in Barbara Dahm’s speech therapy program. Through my involvement in the Dynamic Stuttering coarse, I have learned repeatable, reliable processes of communication. It is this method of speaking which enables me to communicate fluently on a day to day basis.
I have always considered myself a confident person. And so, with the onset of my speech difficulties, I was left unsure of their starting place and unsettled by the absence of a solution.
It was my understanding that a speech pathologist was someone who recited a single word, unbinding your past abilities in an instant. This person proscribed a “cure all” pill that was given in one dose. This was not the case.
The technique(s) taught by Barbara allows tendencies of incorrect speech production to be replaced by those that are correct. As you ingrain these new patterns into your system, they become habit forming. This is a gradual process, with the rate of progress progressing differently, based on the individual.
Much of our problem is only known by, ourselves. Thus explaining why concrete answers of stuttering elude science to this day. Which exercises will work for you, you will know. Which areas you’ll need to develop, you’ll know. Barbara is ultimately the guide, who leads you to your self-defined definition. She does not cure your speech troubles. She presents a pathway for you to choose. That pathway lets, you, cure your problems, yourself.
What you do is, you choose to do this. Dynamic Stuttering Therapy… is a choice.
Nathan Faircough
23 years old
Syracuse, New York
I have been practicing the speech exercises every day for half an hour and I think there are big differences. The frequency with which I had my internal blocks is much less (sometimes days go by without much difficulty at all) and speaking is more of the way I knew it could be. More important, I no longer have the uncertainty (which, at times, was psychologically and physically debilitating) that used to accompany new speaking occasions. There were many times when I would “psyche” myself out before uttering a single word. Now I’m confident that the words will flow. This change was certainly, and by far, the most rewarding.
Aaron
31 years old
California, USA
Dear Barbara and our most beloved Irit,
To be honest, I was quite skeptic of what CTI and you would be able to achieve with the speech problems my eight-year-old son was experiencing. I had previously tried several speech therapists as well as various techniques recommended by doctors, teachers and friends, but to no avail.
I began to worry that my son was nearing the age where the stutter would become an emotional problem and in turn, got apprehensive and nervous to say the least. I made an appointment by the renown Rabbi Feurer as well as by my pediatrician. To my surprise both, separately, recommended Barbara Dahm of CTI.
I arrived at the clinic, skeptic as mentioned,and to my amazement , not only did my son catch on he was most definitely enjoying himself. The chemistry between him and Irit (our dear therapist) was almost instantaneous and they became great friends.The atmosphere at CTI was always calm and happy. The child felt welcome, never pressured , with just smiles and encouragement in abundance. He understood the techniques and was duly doing the exercises,thus slowly but surely progressing. Dumbfounded and unbelieving, we called it a miracle, and miracles as you know go unexplained. Though I am certain that you, Barbara and Irit, may have many explanations ,both logical and scientific, nevertheless, for our son and our family it’s nothing short of a miracle!
Deeply grateful, with love and respect, I remain, Sincerely yours,
Yossi’s Mommy
היי ברברה !!!
סליחה שאני עונה בעברית כי די קשה לי לבטא את עצמי בצורה נכונה באנגלית. קודם כל תודה רבה על הפגישה האינטרנטית שלנו , היה לי נורא כיף לשוחח איתך וכמובן לחזור על הדיבור הנכון והטבעי שלי שנעלם אי שם והיה חבוי הרבה שנים . ה-Session היה מוצלח מאד מבחינתי והפקתי ממנו הרבה וגם למדתי דברים על עצמי ועל דרך הפקת הדיבור .
אני מבין את השיטה של .CTI אני יודע שהשיטה היא השיטה הנכונה והכי חשוב זוהי השיטה הטבעית!
אני אשמח מאד לשתף ולעזור לך להבין את המגמגם המצוי למרות שאני תמיד הייתי חצי מגמגם אבל סבלתי מחוסר ביטחון במצבים מסויימים שבו נאלצתי לדבר או להשמיע דעה וזה היה בהחלט מתסכל וגרם אי נוחות וחשק וגם מפח נפש לא מעט פעמים בחיי.
זה אבסורד לומר שהדרך הנכונה לדיבור היא הדרך הטבעית והקלה כמו שילד קטן מדבר, ללא שום שליטה או “פילטרים,” אלא פשוט לדבר בלי לחשוב על הצורה שמדברים..לדבר כמו שהטבע הרגיל אותנו לדבר. כמגמגם קל אני יודע בוודאות שרוב המגמגמים עושים בקרה והכנה לפני הדיבור, דבר שמשבש את הדיבור , גורם לו להשמע לא טבעי , מאריכים את המילים ולבסוף נתקעים במילים מסוימים או בהגייה מסויימת. וזה נורא נורא מתסכל שבוגר מגמגם , ולצערי עדיין יש את הסטיגמות השליליות למגמגמים . הסוד הוא לדבר ללא כל בקרה , ללא פילטר , ללא הכנה מוקדמת. פשוט …לדבר באופן אוטומטי עם תזמון טבעי של המוח עם מערכת הדיבור!
אני עדיין חושב שיש קושי לא קל להפטר מההרגלים של המילים בראש וההכנות למיניהם לדיבור..כמו החלפת מילים , הארכת מילים. כלומר הקושי הגדול ביותר לאחד שמדבר הרבה שנים בצורה לא נכונה, הוא להפטר מההרגלים הישנים ולהתרגל לדבר בצורה טבעית. השינוי הזה לא קל ולא פשוט לכל אחד, אבל הוא אפשרי והוא הדרך היחידה לדיבור טבעי ללא גמגום!! מאד כדאי להתאמן על דיבור פנימי (דבר שכ”כ היה חסר לי כל השני!!)
אז באמת תודה רבה לך שהחזרת לי את הביטחון בדיבור , כבר בימים האחרונים שמתי לב לשיפור אצלי מאז ה- SESSION . השיטה היא שיטה נכונה!! שיטה טובה!!! שיטה טבעית !!! השיטה מתעסקת במקור הבעיה ולא בתסמונת ובעיצוב הדיבור .
אם תרצי אשמח לשלוח לך מייל עם המלצות חמות ממני בשפה האנגלית כדי שכולם יראו וילמדו כמה חשוב להבין שזהוי שיטה שיכולה להציל את כולם מהבעיה של הגמגום.
בידידות רבה,
ובהערכה ובהערצה גדולה מאד ,
אלכס גולדבלט מהרצליה
