‘Life could be quite difficult....I was never able to tell someone my name’

For most of her life, Dunshaughlin woman Martina Ross struggled to answer the phone, socialise or find the jobs she wanted.

What was holding her back was a stutter – something that made life very difficult from when she developed it at five years old.

“I even named my daughter, Jennifer, because I knew it was a name I would be able to say,” she explains.

However, her life changed dramatically 12 years ago when she participated in a programme which helps people with the condition and bizarrely the change all came about because of an interview with a pop star.

“Gareth Gates had been on Pop Idol – he had a stutter that disappeared when he sang. I saw him interviewed on television years later and he had no problems, so I looked him up and discovered he had taken part in the McGuire Programme which aims to help people overcome their speech impediments with a regime of breathing and psychological exercises. “I decided to do it 12 years ago and it changed my life,” she says.

Martina has learned to overcome her stammer and to articulate her thoughts in a 'normal' way; to speak without feeling fearful she won't get the words out.

Now a minor task such as answering the telephone, ordering food in a restaurant or telling someone her name is no longer the major problem it once was.

“Before the programme there was no way, I would have been able to give this interview,” she says.

For most of her life, Martina has struggled with her stammer and while she has gone on to live a full life, the speech impediment always caused her problems.

“I had a stutter from I was five years old. I could never say my name in school or read aloud.

“Having a stutter can be very stressful and can affect your life and life choices especially from a young age.

“Life could be quite difficult – I couldn't get the jobs I wanted, I couldn't answer the phone, friends would have to order for me in a restaurant.”

Martina says she was very lucky she wasn't bullied because of her stutter but it was very stressful.

“I used to change words around the try different ways to ensure I could say something, but I was never able to tell someone my name.

“I did my Leaving Cert, but I didn't like school – I found it very stressful. I got a job working in a supermarket where I was able to hide away and not speak too often.

“I found it difficult to socialise, but I got married and we have been married for 43 years.

“We have one daughter and thankfully she hasn't a stutter.

“When choosing her name – Jennifer – I made sure it was a name I could say ad I didn't give her a second name.”

Fed up with all the limitations her stammer placed on her life, when Martina heard about the McGuire programme as a result of the Gareth Gates interview, she was determined to try it.

“I decided to give it a shot.

“The McGuire Programme is designed specifically for people with a stammer. The programme originated in the United States and has been used by sufferers in many other parts of the world.”

Martina explains it is not a magic cure, just a way of controlling the condition using breathing and psychological exercises.

“I did my course over four days in Salthill in Galway. They were four long days and we worked very hard.

“All of us taking part had stutters and it was delivered by people who had stutters.”

Martina explains that since then she has partaken a few other sessions each year and there will be a refresher course in the Ardboyne Hotel on 11th May.

“Sometimes, very young people, aged only 14 or 15, are taking part. It is great to see the difference between when people arrive for the first time and when they leave the course.” Martina is really appreciative of all the little thing she can do now, that she was afraid to do in the pat.

“I answer the phone, order my own food. I have spoken without stuttering at school presentations, at ICA meetings and a meeting of Hens Shed.

Most importantly she spoke at her daughter's wedding. “I'm very happy,” she says.