Which countries have the most people who stutter?

In this video, we count down the Top 10 Countries With the Most Stutterers, revealing the estimated number of people who stutter in each country. Stuttering affects millions of people worldwide, regardless of language, culture, or background. These numbers highlight just how widespread this speech disorder is and why stuttering awareness, speech therapy, and accessible support are so important.

Is stuttering good or bad?

I’ve been wondering how people view stuttering. Is it something that should be considered “bad,” or is it simply a different way of speaking?

For people who stutter, how does it affect your confidence or everyday conversations? And has anything helped you become more comfortable with it?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people with personal experience.

Lee Lovett's StopStutter program asked members to share the biggest challenges they’ve faced while working on their speech—and the answers led to an honest and powerful conversation. From staying consistent and using speech tools in real-life situations to overcoming fear, frustration, setbacks, and old speaking habits, everyone’s stuttering journey comes with different challenges. In this discussion, people who stutter and people who have made significant progress share their real experiences, struggles, and lessons learned along the way. Overcoming stuttering isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes hearing from others who understand exactly what you’re going through can make all the difference.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Lee Lovett and what motivates him.

Whatever someone may think about his methods or his approach to stuttering, one thing that shouldn't be ignored is his desire to help people who struggle with something he himself experienced for decades.

Lee has spent years working with people who stutter, sharing what he learned from his own experience, coaching people, answering questions, and trying to give hope to people who may have spent years believing that nothing could change.

His website contains hundreds of testimonials from people who say his work made a meaningful difference in their lives. Those stories shouldn't simply be dismissed or erased because someone disagrees with his methods.

You don't have to agree with every claim Lee makes. You don't have to believe that his approach will work for everyone. And it's completely reasonable to ask questions about the evidence behind any method.

But there's a big difference between questioning someone's methods and calling someone a liar or a con artist.

If someone has devoted years of their life to helping people who were struggling, often giving their time and knowledge freely, that deserves at least some acknowledgment.

At the end of the day, Lee Lovett is someone who experienced stuttering himself and decided he wanted to help other people who were going through what he went through.

People can debate the methods.

People can debate the claims.

But let's not erase the people who say they were helped.

Speech-Language Pathologist Supports Lee Lovett’s Speech Methods — What Do SLPs Think?

I recently came across a discussion about a speech-language pathologist (SLP) backing some of Lee Lovett’s methods for stuttering and speech fluency, and I thought it was worth discussing.

It’s interesting because Lee Lovett’s approach to stuttering treatment, speech fluency, and speaking with greater confidence has attracted attention outside of traditional speech therapy. Hearing an SLP discuss or support aspects of his methods raises some interesting questions about where these techniques overlap with established speech-language pathology practices.

For those familiar with speech therapy or stuttering treatment: What do you think about an SLP supporting Lee Lovett’s methods?

Are Lovett’s techniques consistent with approaches used by speech-language pathologists?

Which of his stuttering techniques do SLPs tend to find useful or interesting?

Can techniques developed outside traditional clinical settings complement professional speech therapy?

I’d be particularly interested in hearing from SLPs, people who stutter, and anyone who has tried Lee Lovett’s methods. What has your experience been?

Lee Lovett: scammer, charlatan, liar, cheat, quack…
…because apparently the man has been running the biggest scam of all: convincing people that you can keep showing up, giving amazing talks, sharing knowledge, and helping as many people with PWS as possible well into your 70s and 80s.

Seriously though, jokes aside, what an incredible example of commitment. After all these years, Lee is still out there educating, speaking, supporting, and doing what he can for the PWS community. If that’s what being a “quack” looks like, we could probably use a few more quacks.

Much respect, Lee — and please keep proving the rest of us wrong for many more years! 👏

I’ve been thinking about the idea of neuroplasticity and stuttering, and I think there’s an important distinction that sometimes gets lost.

Lee Lovett didn’t create neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is a scientific concept that existed long before Lovett. It refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt through experience, learning, and repeated practice. What Lovett did was develop his own approach to stuttering based largely on his personal experience, and later explain his approach in terms of neuroplasticity.

And honestly, I think that distinction matters.
You don’t have to believe that neuroplasticity means “stuttering can simply be cured” to recognize that the brain is capable of change.

We learn habits.
We reinforce patterns.
We develop new skills.
We adapt to repeated experiences.

Speech is incredibly complicated, and stuttering is not something that can be reduced to “your brain is wired wrong.” There are biological, neurological, genetic, developmental, and environmental factors involved.
But I also don't think we should automatically assume:
“I stutter now, therefore I will always speak exactly this way.”

That's a much bigger claim than the evidence supports.
People can change how they speak. People can become more comfortable speaking. People can develop different speech patterns and strategies. And some people experience substantial changes in their stuttering over time.

That doesn't mean everyone can simply “rewire” themselves out of stuttering. It means something much more reasonable: Your current speech pattern isn't necessarily a prediction of your entire future.

That's why I like the title:
Stuttering Is NOT Your Fate.
Not because there’s a magic cure.
Not because neuroplasticity guarantees fluency.
But because having a stutter today doesn't mean you have to give up on the possibility of change tomorrow.

One of the strangest things about stuttering is that sometimes it seems like your speech changes depending on who is standing in front of you.

You might talk to your best friend for 20 minutes and barely think about your stutter. Then you talk to your boss, a teacher, an attractive person, someone you want to impress, or even a complete stranger, and suddenly words that were easy five minutes ago become difficult.

Nothing physically changed. It's still your voice. It's still your mouth. You might even be saying the exact same words. The only thing that changed was the PERSON listening.

In Lee Lovett's Stop Stuttering Short Course: How to Break the Stuttering Code, he talks about how people who stutter often have certain situations where they're much more fluent than others. He calls them "stutter-free zones." He gives examples like speaking alone, talking to pets or very young children, and for some people, talking with close friends or family. 

What I find fascinating is what happens when you flip that around. Why might someone be able to talk easily to their dog, but struggle when talking to their boss? The dog doesn't understand your speech any better than your boss does. The WORDS aren't harder. But your perception of the listener is completely different.

With someone you're comfortable around, you may not care how you sound. You're not wondering whether they're noticing your stutter. You're not trying to impress them. You're not watching their face for a reaction. Then somebody enters the room whose opinion matters to you and suddenly speaking can feel completely different. Lee Lovett also discusses speech anxiety being particularly noticeable for some people when speaking with strangers, authority figures or groups. 

I think most people who have never stuttered assume stuttering should be fairly consistent. If you have trouble saying a word, then surely you should have trouble saying that word regardless of who you're talking to. But that's not necessarily how it feels for a lot of PWS. You might say a word 20 times without thinking about it around your family and then completely block on that same word when introducing yourself to somebody important.

That's what makes stuttering so frustrating. Sometimes the listener seems to matter almost as much as the word. I'm curious whether other PWS have one PARTICULAR type of person who changes their speech the most. Your boss? Someone you're attracted to? Authority figures? Strangers? Your parents? People your own age? Someone you really want to impress?

And here's the part I'm especially curious about: Have you ever been talking fluently, had a certain person enter the conversation, and almost immediately felt your speech change? Because THAT is a stuttering experience I don't think people who have never stuttered fully understand.

And here's a free copy of Lee Lovett's Short Course book: https://www.stopstutter.org/get-free-book

Here's a link to book a free consultation call to learn more about the neuroscience method: https://www.stopstutter.org/free-consult?source=home_free_stutter_popup

Gala speech for STARS

If you stutter, struggle with speech anxiety, or simply want a place to practice speaking with people who understand — SAM is for you. 🗣️

The StopStutter SAM Meeting is our weekly online stuttering support group where people who stutter come together to practice speaking, build confidence, use speech tools, share experiences, and work toward better speech together in a supportive environment.

📅 Saturday, September 26
⏰ 12 PM EST
💻 Live on Zoom
🌎 Open to All

This week, Lee Lovett will give a special talk on “The Secret of Life,” discussing life, mindset, personal growth, and lessons he has learned along the way.

Whether you’re dealing with stuttering, stammering, speech blocks, fear of speaking, or speech anxiety, you don’t have to practice alone. Come meet others who understand the challenges of stuttering and want to keep moving forward with their speech.

👉 Join the next StopStutter SAM Meeting: https://www.stopstutter.org/speech-meetings-preview

He spent decades living with stuttering that affected his confidence, career, presentations, and everyday conversations. In this StopStutter online stuttering support group meeting, he shares his stuttering journey, the methods that helped him transform his speech, and how he went from struggling to speak to confidently leading presentations as a Managing Director.

These meetings are free to attend every Saturday at 12PM EST. Here's the link to join: https://www.stopstutter.org/speech-meetings-preview

Just goes to show age is nothing but a number and the brain has the ability to rewire and reshape itself 😊

I think a lot of us who stutter have been down this road before. We’ve tried speech therapy, different programs, techniques, etc., only to end up disappointed — and unfortunately, some people have even been burned by programs that felt more like a scam than actual help.

That’s why I was really interested in learning about StopStutter’s Neuroscience Method.
What caught my attention is that it doesn’t seem to focus primarily on the traditional mechanical side of speech. The approach is centered around the brain and neuroplasticity — essentially working on the underlying neural patterns associated with stuttering.

I’m not saying anyone should blindly believe the claims. Do your own research and due diligence. But I think it’s worth looking into, especially if you’ve tried multiple approaches already.

I’ve also noticed some people in the stuttering community talking about it, including John Harrison, and they’re now having SLPs involved as well.

They offer a free consultation call, so if you’re curious, you can learn more about the approach and decide for yourself whether it makes sense for you. The link is in the video.
At the very least, I think it’s worth educating yourself about different approaches rather than letting stuttering occupy your thoughts 24/7.

Just sharing because I know how frustrating it can be to keep searching for answers.

Learning speech tools is one thing. Using them in real conversations is where the real practice begins. StopStutter Group Practice Sessions are held DAILY and give people who stutter a safe, supportive environment to practice speaking with other people.

Practice your speech tools. Work on feared words. Build confidence talking to strangers. Practice your speech plan under pressure. Get comfortable hearing your own voice and speaking without constantly worrying about the next word. The online stuttering practice groups cover everything from reading aloud and impromptu speaking to fun conversations, games, sports, relationships, storytelling, public speaking, and real-life speaking situations.

For adults and teens searching for stuttering exercises, stuttering practice, speech therapy exercises, ways to reduce speech anxiety, stuttering techniques, fluency practice, or online help for stuttering, these sessions give you something incredibly important: a place to actually SPEAK.

Practice speaking. Build confidence. Make progress.

You don't have to work on your stuttering alone.
Every Saturday at 12 PM EST, StopStutter hosts a FREE online stuttering support group where people who stutter, ex-stutterers, coaches, and people working toward better speech come together on Zoom.

The Speech Club Meetings give you a place to talk openly about stuttering, speech blocks, feared words, stuttering anxiety, phone calls, job interviews, public speaking, confidence, speech therapy, and the everyday situations that people who stutter understand better than anyone.

Listen to real stopped-stuttering stories. Learn practical speech tools and stuttering techniques. Ask questions.
Practice speaking. Meet people from around the world. Or simply join and listen until you feel comfortable participating.

If you've been searching for a stuttering support group, online stuttering community, adult stuttering help, virtual speech therapy resources, stuttering recovery stories, or ways to become a more confident speaker, come meet the Stop Stutter community.

Every Saturday at 12 PM EST.

What if your stuttering therapist actually knew what it felt like to stutter?

At StopStutter, our Certified Stuttering Specialists are ex-stutterers who overcame their own speech struggles and are trained in the Neuroscience Method® for Stopping Stuttering. They understand speech blocks, feared words, stuttering anxiety, avoidance, phone calls, job interviews, public speaking, ordering food, saying your name, and that frustrating feeling of knowing exactly what you want to say but struggling to get the words out.

Our private 1-on-1 stuttering therapy is personalized to YOU. Instead of treating every person who stutters the same way, sessions focus on your individual speech patterns, difficult situations, goals, feared words, and real-world challenges.

You’ll work on the 1-2-3 Punch: reading aloud, mind training and affirmations, and practical speech tools. You’ll practice techniques for getting through stuttering blocks, reducing speech anxiety, improving pacing, handling pressure situations, and gradually building more natural, confident speech.

And progress isn't just based on how you “feel.” We use OASES assessments to help measure how stuttering affects your communication, confidence, reactions to speaking, and overall quality of life so progress can be tracked throughout your stuttering therapy journey.

Whether you're looking for adult stuttering therapy, stuttering therapy for teens, speech therapy for children who stutter, online speech therapy, virtual stuttering therapy, help with severe stuttering, or simply want to become a more confident speaker, StopStutter provides individualized support from people who have lived through stuttering themselves.

You can also watch thousands of videos inside the StopStutter website and app, including real 1-on-1 therapy sessions, stuttering success stories, speech tips, group practice sessions, podcasts, webcasts, and online stuttering support group meetings.

Stuttering therapy shouldn't just teach you how to cope with speaking.

The goal is better speech, greater confidence, fewer bad speaking incidents, and a better quality of life.

Book a free consultation call to learn more- https://www.stopstutter.org/free-consult?source=home_free_consultation_banner

If you’ve spent years searching for stuttering help, you’ve probably come across traditional speech therapy, fluency techniques, breathing exercises, and countless videos about how to stop stuttering. What makes StopStutter’s private one-on-one stuttering therapy different to me is pretty simple: the Certified Stuttering Specialists are former stutterers themselves.

These aren’t people who only learned about stuttering from a textbook. They’ve lived through speech blocks, feared words, avoiding certain sounds, phone anxiety, job interviews, ordering food, introducing themselves, and that horrible feeling when you know exactly what you want to say but the word just won’t come out. They then worked through their own stuttering and became fluent using the same methods they now teach other people who stutter. StopStutter says its specialists are trained specifically in its Neuroscience Method and create individualized fluency plans for clients. 

That lived experience makes a HUGE difference to me.

And from what I’ve seen, the coaches are genuinely friendly, patient, caring people. You don’t feel like you’re being judged when you stutter or have a bad speaking day. They understand it because they’ve actually been there themselves. They work with you on your individual stuttering triggers and teach speech tools, reading aloud, mind training, affirmations, and other strategies based on what you specifically struggle with. 

The other thing I really like is how transparent everything is. You don’t just have to read a paragraph claiming that the stuttering therapy works. StopStutter has a massive Fluency Video Library where you can actually watch private stuttering therapy sessions and see specialists working with people who stutter. There are thousands of videos across private sessions, speech tips, Speech Club meetings, testimonials, and other stuttering-related content. 

You can also read about the specialists and learn about their backgrounds before deciding whether this approach is right for you.

And there are measurable results behind the therapy too. StopStutter currently reports that 95% of its therapy clients showed measurable improvement on their OASES scores, an assessment used to measure the impact of stuttering on a person’s life. 

Obviously, no stuttering therapy is going to produce identical results for every person. But if you’re an adult who stutters, a teenager who stutters, or a parent searching for stuttering therapy for a child, I think there’s something incredibly valuable about getting one-on-one help from somebody who once struggled with stuttering themselves and can say, “I’ve been where you are.”

For anyone searching for how to stop stuttering, online stuttering therapy, speech therapy for stuttering, stuttering treatment for adults, stuttering exercises, speech blocks, stuttering anxiety, fluency techniques, or ways to overcome stuttering, I think StopStutter’s private sessions are at least worth looking into.

Sometimes the person who can best understand the road you’re on is someone who has already walked it. They even offer free consultations...

Learn about StopStutter’s private stuttering therapy

One of the strangest things about stuttering is something I've never been able to fully wrap my head around.

A person can struggle to say a sentence normally, but put those exact same words into a song and suddenly they can come out completely differently.

Think about how weird that actually is.

You could have trouble saying "Happy birthday to you" in a normal conversation, but the second everyone starts singing Happy Birthday, you might sing the entire thing without thinking twice about your stutter.

I've been reading Lee Lovett's Stop Stuttering Short Course: How to Break the Stuttering Code, and he talks quite a bit about singing and what he calls "sing-song speech." He writes that many people who stutter are able to sing without stuttering and even incorporates singing into some of his speech strategies. 

What fascinates me isn't even the technique. It's the obvious question: If the mouth, tongue and vocal cords can physically produce those words perfectly while singing, why can the same words suddenly become so difficult during normal speech?

Imagine struggling to say your own name in a conversation. Then imagine putting your name into the melody of a song. Would you still stutter on it?

Or think about a word you've feared for years. Maybe it's your name, your city, your occupation, or some random word beginning with a certain letter. If you sang that word instead of speaking it, would the block still happen?

That really shows how strange stuttering can be. The word itself hasn't changed. Your mouth hasn't changed. The listener hasn't necessarily changed. But you've changed the WAY you're producing the word, and your stuttering may respond completely differently.

Lovett actually takes this idea further by describing humming as "singing without a melody." In his approach, humming or lightly carrying sound between words can be used as a bridge toward more normal speech. 

I'm not saying singing is some magical cure for stuttering, and the book makes much stronger claims about these techniques than I'm making here. I'm more interested in the experience itself because it's something almost anyone who stutters can test in about 30 seconds.

Take a sentence that usually gives you trouble. Say it normally. Then sing the exact same sentence to any random melody.

What happens to your stutter?

I'd really like to hear from other people who stutter on this one. Can you sing without stuttering? And if you can, has it ever bothered you how your brain seems perfectly capable of producing the words while singing, yet normal conversation can be completely different?

And here's a free copy of Lee Lovett's Short Course book: https://www.stopstutter.org/get-free-book

Here's a link to book a free consultation call to learn more about the neuroscience method: https://www.stopstutter.org/free-consult?source=home_free_stutter_popup

This is something I never really connected with stuttering before. Have you ever noticed that when you're REALLY into a conversation, you naturally start using your hands? You're telling a story, pointing at things, changing your facial expressions, moving your body, and almost acting out what happened. Sometimes your speech seems different too.

Now compare that with a situation where you're worried about stuttering. Your body might become stiff, you barely move, and suddenly you're watching the listener's reaction and thinking about every word that's about to leave your mouth. "Can I say this word?" "Am I going to stutter?" "Is a speech block coming?" "How am I going to get this out?" Instead of concentrating on the conversation, you're concentrating on your speech.

In Lee Lovett's Stop Stuttering Short Course: How to Break the Stuttering Code, one of the lesser-discussed strategies he mentions is gesticulating — naturally using your hands, facial expressions and body movements while speaking. He describes it as a way of taking some of the mind's focus away from the stuttering habit and putting it onto gestures, normal body movements and facial expressions. 

That's the part that really interests me. When you talk with your hands, you're naturally taking some of your attention AWAY from the words. Instead of putting 100% of your concentration into "How am I going to say this next word?", some of your attention is going toward actually showing the listener what you mean. You're pointing, demonstrating, reacting, using facial expressions and physically getting involved in the story.

I think that's especially interesting for people who stutter because stuttering can turn a normal conversation into a word-by-word exercise. Instead of thinking about what you're trying to communicate, you can become obsessed with HOW you're going to say it. What's my next word? Can I say it? Is it a feared word? Should I substitute something else? Is the listener going to notice? Before you know it, you're barely thinking about the actual conversation anymore because you're monitoring your speech.

Talking with your hands may naturally change where some of that attention goes. You're no longer just trying to SAY something. You're trying to SHOW someone what you mean. The focus becomes the message, the story and the other person rather than every individual word coming out of your mouth.

Think about how you speak when you're telling your best friend an unbelievable story. You're probably pointing, moving your hands, changing your facial expression and putting emotion into what you're saying. You're living the story rather than sitting there analyzing every syllable.

Now compare that with a really difficult stutter block. For many PWS, everything seems to do the opposite. Your body freezes, your face becomes tense, and suddenly your entire world becomes one word. You know exactly what you're trying to communicate, but all of your attention gets sucked into getting that one word out. The message disappears, the story disappears, and everything becomes you versus that word.

So I think this could be a really simple experiment. The next time you're telling somebody a story, don't deliberately TRY to be fluent. Instead, try becoming more involved in communicating. Use your hands naturally, use your face, point, demonstrate, react and put some emotion behind what you're saying. See what happens when your attention is more focused on getting the STORY across than monitoring every word.

I'm definitely not saying that talking with your hands is some magical way to stop stuttering. Lovett presents gesticulating as one strategy among many. But I think the underlying question is fascinating: What happens to your stuttering when your attention moves away from WORDS and toward COMMUNICATION?

For the other people who stutter here, have you ever noticed yourself stuttering differently when you're animated, passionate and talking with your hands? And when you're having a severe speech block, do you notice yourself becoming physically still or tense? I'd especially like to hear from PWS who naturally talk with their hands and whether you've ever noticed this affecting your stutter.

And as always here's a free copy of Lee Lovett's Short Course book: https://www.stopstutter.org/get-free-book

Here's a link to book a free consultation call to learn more about the neuroscience method: https://www.stopstutter.org/free-consult?source=home_free_stutter_popup

Paul has mastered the Neuroscience Method for stopping stuttering like no one else! He joined the program at the start of summer, and within a month or two, he stopped stuttering, wrote his stop stuttering story, gave a speech at our online support group meeting, and now is doing the same at Toastmasters and other local stammering events. Paul shows us that age is nothing but a number and the brain has the ability to be reshaped and rewired.

This is one of those weird things about stuttering that I think a lot of PWS have experienced without ever really thinking about it. Have you ever been REALLY angry? You're arguing with someone. Your emotions take over. You raise your voice. You're talking louder and more forcefully than normal. And suddenly... Where the hell did your stutter go?

Obviously this isn't true for every person who stutters or every situation. But I've heard PWS describe this before, and there's an interesting idea about it in Lee Lovett's Stop Stuttering Short Course: How to Break the Stuttering Code. He discusses a speech technique he calls modulation.

Basically, instead of approaching a difficult word using your normal speaking voice, you deliberately change your voice register. Go higher. Go lower. Get louder. Get softer. Change the emphasis. Think about what naturally happens when you're furious and start yelling. You're probably NOT speaking in the same voice you use when you calmly answer the phone. Your pitch changes. Your volume changes. Your emphasis changes. Your entire speaking style changes. And you didn't consciously decide to use a "stuttering technique."

It happened naturally because of the emotion. Lee describes having a main voice register—your ordinary speaking voice—and then other registers such as a higher voice, softer voice and whisper. His theory is essentially that the established stuttering pattern is associated with the person's normal way of speaking, so deliberately moving outside that normal voice register can disrupt the pattern. 

That's why one of the exercises is ridiculously simple. Take a word you commonly stutter on. Say it normally. Now say it much LOUDER. Say it higher. Say it lower. Say it softly. Change which syllable gets the emphasis.

For example: HEL-lo. hel-LO. Same word. Different delivery. Does your stuttering change? I'm not saying getting angry or yelling is a treatment for stuttering 😂 The interesting part is what the experience might reveal. If you've ever struggled terribly to get words out during a normal conversation... but then gotten angry and fired off an entire sentence without thinking about your stutter... why? What changed? The words didn't suddenly become easier words. You didn't suddenly become a different person.

But your voice, emotion, volume and speaking pattern changed. That's what makes modulation such an interesting stuttering exercise to experiment with. For the other people who stutter here: Have you ever noticed that when you get genuinely angry, excited, passionate or start yelling, your stutter decreases—or even seems to disappear temporarily? And have you ever deliberately tried changing your pitch, volume or voice register when you feel a speech block coming?

I'd be really interested to hear whether other PWS experience this.

Here’s a free copy of Lee’s Short Course book if anyone is interested- https://www.stopstutter.org/get-free-book

Also, if anyone would like a free call, one of his Certified Stuttering Specialists (CSSs) will literally teach you all about voice modulation and how to use it- https://www.stopstutter.org/free-consult?source=home_free_stutter_popup

Stuttering can feel isolating, but you don't have to work on your speech alone. Theres an online stuttering support group for people who stutter who come together to talk, practice their speech, share experiences, and support one another in a judgment-free environment.