Stuttering was a major handicap for me until the age of 42. It colored everything I did and stopped me from being able to do the things I wanted to do.

I didn’t go to college because I didn’t want to be in a classroom situation and speak around people whom I didn’t know. I didn’t seek out the type of jobs I wanted. Instead, I worked in the back-room of a bank where I didn’t have to talk with people.

I tried a number of treatment programs over the years that were recommended to me, including speech therapy, hypnosis, and psychiatric therapy. A doctor even cut the membrane under my tongue in hopes of stopping my stuttering. Nothing worked.

Then, I found out about HCRI. I went for treatment and, for the first time, was taught ways to make my speech more fluent. That’s when my life began to change.

As my speech improved, so did my confidence. I sought new jobs in different fields that enabled me to interface with the public. At one point, I even worked for a member of the New York Assembly, where I wrote and gave speeches on governmental and activist-related issues.

Now that I’m retired, I’ve written a play and am involved with a theatre group. I also volunteer my time to work at a hospital information desk. The HCRI therapy program changed my life and opened up new worlds to me.

William Schneider
Writer and Community Volunteer