Coming up with the idea for a stammering app

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(Image courtesy of Karola G via Canva)

Lucy describes the challenges of growing up with a stammer, and explains how it gave her the idea to create an app to aid conversations and practise speaking. In its early stages, Lucy invites you to test it out and share your thoughts.

I was seven when I started to stammer. It runs in my family. But growing up in China, I didn't know of any support groups or communities where I could meet people who shared similar experiences.

I was often laughed at in school because of the way I spoke. I remember coming home in tears, feeling embarrassed and wondering why speaking seemed so much easier for everyone else.

But what made it particularly difficult was that I was a very talkative and outgoing child. I loved talking to people. I had so much I wanted to say. Over time, that changed. I became quieter. I started holding back, avoiding situations where I might have to speak, and hiding a part of myself that had once felt so natural.

I didn't stop wanting to speak. I simply became afraid of letting people hear how I really spoke.

My mum was always there to encourage me. She knew how much I struggled, but she never wanted me to stop believing in myself. She encouraged me to practise public speaking and to build the courage to express myself.

There is one childhood memory I will never forget. One day, in class, we were asked to share our dreams for the future. I stood up and told everyone that I wanted to become a TV presenter. The whole class laughed, even the teacher. To them, the idea of someone who struggled to speak becoming a TV presenter seemed ridiculous. But to me, it was a genuine dream. I loved speaking. I loved communicating. I wanted to be someone who could stand in front of people and share stories. That moment stayed with me for years.

Looking back, I realise how deeply those experiences affected my confidence. I didn't stop wanting to speak. I simply became afraid of letting people hear how I really spoke.

Learning to hide my stammer

As I grew older, I became very good at managing my speech. I learned to anticipate words that might be difficult, quickly replacing them with easier words, changing my sentences halfway through, or avoiding speaking altogether. Sometimes I would know exactly what I wanted to say, but I would spend so much energy planning how to say it without stammering.

I began exploring whether AI could offer a different kind of speaking practice.

From the outside, I might appear fluent. But inside, it could be exhausting. Even today, many of my friends and colleagues don't know that I stammer. It isn't because stammering has disappeared from my life. It is because I have spent so many years learning how to hide it. And sometimes, hiding it feels harder than stammering itself.

Finding a community

Moving to Ireland brought an unexpected turning point. I joined a stammering support community and for the first time I met people who understood what I had experienced. I remember how surprised I was to discover so many people who stammered, and how openly they could talk about it. People shared their stories, frustrations, fears and achievements. They spoke about experiences I had always thought were mine alone. For the first time, I felt that I didn't have to explain everything or pretend. I wasn't the only one.

Being part of that community gave me support and helped me become more comfortable talking about my stammer. It also gave me the courage to tell my Irish husband that I stammered. He was genuinely surprised. He had never realised.

That moment made me think about just how much of my speech I had been managing and concealing, even from someone so close to me. And I began to wonder how many other people were doing the same thing every day.

The idea for my app

I've spent much of my life managing my speech. Even now, there are moments when I feel frustrated, embarrassed or anxious about a particular conversation.

Sometimes I want to practise a difficult word or prepare for a phone call. Sometimes I want to speak freely without constantly thinking about whether I will stammer. And sometimes, I simply want a space where I don't have to pretend.

That is when I got the idea for creating an app.

With my background in technology and software development, I began exploring whether AI could offer a different kind of speaking practice. I imagined having a conversation partner available whenever I needed one — whether that was before an important meeting, or after a difficult speaking experience. Someone I could practise with without worrying about being judged, interrupted or laughed at.

Most importantly, I wanted a space where stammering was allowed. Not where I had to speak ‘perfectly’, but somewhere I could practise speaking with more confidence and less pressure. That became the starting point.

I’ve been developing an AI-powered conversation practice tool designed with people who stammer in mind. It’s in its early stages and I’ve called it SpeakEase. It allows people to practise everyday conversations, such as phone calls, job interviews and casual chats, with an AI conversation partner. There’s no time limit — when giving a reply, you just press the button when you’ve finished speaking.

My hope

My hope is that people can use it in whatever way feels helpful to them. Some might want to prepare for a difficult conversation. Others might want to practise particular words or speaking situations. Some might simply want the freedom to stammer without feeling embarrassed.

I hope it can become another option — a tool people can turn to when they want to practise, explore or simply express themselves.

I don't believe everyone needs to become more fluent, and I certainly don't believe that stammering is something to be ashamed of. For me, confidence isn't necessarily about speaking without stammering. It's about feeling able to say what you want to say, even when you stammer.

SpeakEase isn't intended to replace speech & language therapy, human connection or the support of communities such as STAMMA. I hope it can become another option — a tool people can turn to when they want to practise, explore or simply express themselves.

I'd love your help

SpeakEase is still at an early stage, and I'm learning as I go. I don't want to build something based only on my own experience, because every person's experience of stammering is different.

If you stammer, I'd really welcome you to try SpeakEase and tell me what you think. What feels helpful? What doesn't? What would make speaking practice more comfortable or meaningful for you?

I'd also love to know whether you'd prefer practising with AI, another person who stammers, or a combination of both.

You can try SpeakEase on my website here. Email your feedback to STAMMA at editor@stamma.org and they'll forward it to me.

Your feedback would mean a great deal to me, whether it's positive, critical or simply a suggestion.

A message to my younger self

Sometimes I think about that little girl standing in front of her classroom. I wish I could tell her that there was nothing ridiculous about her dream. That having a stammer didn't mean she had less to say. That she didn't need to hide her voice to deserve to be heard.

I can't change those childhood experiences, but perhaps I can use what I've learned to create something helpful for others. If SpeakEase can help even a few people feel more comfortable speaking, more confident expressing themselves, or simply less alone, then building it will have been worthwhile.

Because everyone deserves to be heard — whether they stammer or not.

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More

• Read more Your Voice articles
• See the range of apps & devices for stammering
• See our Self-help for Stammering page.