How Speech Tools Evolve from Avoiding Stuttering to Shaping Fluent Speech

Hello, mates!

I’m P-Pa-prrr-Prathusha… Well, that’s how I started my Skype session with Lee Lovett.

Before working with Lee, I had tried quite a few speech therapies that didn’t work. The obvious reason? The speech therapists were all normal speakers (non-PWS). I don’t blame them for not fully empathizing—they simply couldn’t understand the labyrinth of neural networks and synaptic brain functions unique to PWS. (Theories and practical experiences often differ, right?)

In contrast, Lee exemplified the strength of being an ex-PWS. His confident, flamboyant way of speaking felt genuine and authentic. I trusted him completely because he had lived through Satan Stuttering himself.

Years of dedicated research and hard work led Lee to formulate the “13 Crutches,” which I call the “Elixir of PWS.” And that’s how I was introduced to the Crutches!

I used them every time I spoke. Whether I felt confident or not, I kept using them. Whenever I had to start speaking in group discussions, I still felt that crumple in my lungs and stiffness in my shoulders and jaw—especially when speaking time was limited. But I easily avoided getting stuck by using any one of the 13 Crutches. This made my fear of initiating speech much more manageable because I always knew I had a tool to evade that threat or fear. The Crutches became my way to avoid stuttering.

The more I used the Crutches, the more I fell in love with them. I went from using them only when I anticipated a threat to using them all the time—24/7 whenever I spoke. It became my unique speaking style!

To my surprise, people around me enjoyed the way I spoke—it was full of passion, expressive body language, voice modulation, and precise pronunciation. Sometimes the Crutches surprised me because I never knew which one I would use next. Suddenly, I had 13 options, which kept my mind busy choosing Crutches instead of worrying about words.

I especially enjoyed the King/Queen’s Speech crutch because it combines six elements at once. It’s dramatic, and it even made me feel like an actor. The Crutches blended into my blood and bones so completely that I forgot how I used to speak before meeting Lee. The Crutches became my way of speaking.

Now, I can’t even classify my speech as “with Crutch” or “without Crutch” because I genuinely don’t remember how I spoke as a PWS—period.

I firmly believe that adopting the Crutches as your speaking style will definitely lead you down the road to fluency. And at the end of that road lies the beginning of another fantastic journey: loving to speak.