Liam’s story helps others

Liam’s mother, Sara, says it may stem from an operation Liam had as a baby. There are many documented instances in which stammering begins after an illness.

Winston Churchill had a bad fall off of a porch as a child, while American country music star Mel Tillis began to stammer after a bout of malaria as a child. I was a totally fluent child until being hospitalized for a hernia operation when I was almost three years old. I am glad that Liam is spreading the word about his success with the McGuire Programme.

I would like to inform Reporter readers about a great resource for stuttering here in the U.S. The website of the Stuttering Foundation (www.stammeringhelp.org) offers a wealth of information and many free resources. There are materials geared towards adults, children and parents.

The site also has a list of famous people who stammer, which features many British subjects such as Lewis Carroll, W. Somerset Maugham, Jane Seymour, Gareth Gates, Kim Philby, Indiana Gregg, Philip Larkin, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Charles Darwin.The movie The King’s Speech has heralded the dawn of a new era for people who stammering.

The fact that people like Liam Pogson are open with their stammering in the media definitely serves to help others.

COLM F RUANE

Bronx

NEW YORK