mcguire program vs medication

[ricardo]

Which one do you think is more effective?

I'm serious thinking of trying the mcguire program but because I'm a mild stutter I don't know if I will see any improvements. I see this program as another speech therapy and I have done 3 and didn't saw that much improvement. Probably because I wasn't motivated(probably was too young or too naive) or the therapist was really bad.

Anyway... regarding medications some of them can do wonders but the side effects makes you think if its worth it (at least in my case).

[Adrian]

Ricardo,

Just remember the medications for stuttering are in the very early stages and the more effective ones have very strong side effects. Pagaclone sounds promising and supposedly has little to no side effects, but it is still in the testing stages and not yet available. I do believe the future of stuttering treatment will be with medications, but I don't think we are quite there yet.

I am a McGuire grad and I think it is a fantastic program for the right person. It is a complete lifestyle change and requires a tremendous amount of work and requires something willing to be open about their stuttering. It is not for everyone, but it is better than the run of the mill therapies.

Adrian

[Penelope]

You need to be realistic about what suits you. Programmes like McGuire require a lot of effort, but it will provide you with skills and techniques that you can use for the rest of your life.

Popping pills takes less effort, but even if they work, there is the potential for side effects, and the benefits might wear off after a while, or at the very least you will have to keep on taking them to get the benefits. Would you be happy to be on drugs for the rest of your life, and how would you feel if you went on holiday and left them behind?

One comparison that could be made would be how would you react if you were told you had high cholesterol? Would you adjust your diet and take more exercise, or would you be going straight onto the drugs?

[ricardo]

I never took any pills to fix my stuttering, except in the last 2 months I took 3 Valium just to see the effect and to be sincere apart from making me more relaxed, I didn't see too much improvements in my stuttering. Basically what made me think in the programme is if it can provide me with a better techniques and skills than the ones I current use to avoid my blocks. I know that the answer to that is to go there I try, but I've seen videos of people in the mcguire program in youtube I feel that my stuttering is very mild compared to them. This is what makes me wondering if its worth it or even if I should be in there!!

I also noted that the programme tries to give stutters more confidence, making them do public presentations. While I don't really liked it, I don't have too much problems in doing public presentation, because in my work I have to present stuff in conferences and speak to groups of people from time to time. Sometimes I do block during the presentations, but a good preparation and a good use of my own set of techniques helps a lot. The problem comes when I leave the prepared realm to the unprepared one and this is where my current techniques don't work so well. The question is can the mcguire programme help me with this?

Anyway, I will probably try the programme in September probably somewhere in Europe.

If I don't make too much sense, sorry about that..I should be sleeping already..

[Jeff99]

i did the Mcguire Program it was great i would recommend it.
i just read someone saying the make you do public speeches they don't make you do anything you do feel like you can do. i've seen people who are really bad stutterers at after a few days are loving the chance to speak in public. i only heard of 2 people not doig the public speeches but i must stress you only do what you feel like you can do no one makes you do anything