My ambitions for 'The Stammer Hammer'

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Garry with his Stammer Hammer (courtesy of Jason Thompson)

Garry Smith tells us about the lightbulb moment that changed his approach to stammering, and shares his ambitious ideas for how it could benefit the community.

I am a 51-year-old father of two and Media Advisor from North-East England, and for nearly five decades, I masked, avoided, covered up and hid my stammer. So much so that it strangulated my daily routine. It can be soul-destroying when you get mocked for blocking, or have to endure sniggering when you stammer. 

However, I have come up with something that has helped me control and level out bouts of pre- and post-stammering anxiety. The simple concept was born after a bad day at work. I got home and went to make a cup of tea. As I waited for the kettle to boil, I recalled my day and jokingly said to myself, "Let's put today under the stammer hammer".

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Garry (courtesy of Jason Thompson)

That throwaway comment got me thinking. What if the hammer was an actual physical object that could be used to symbolically squash the words that I stammered on and provide essential immediate closure? After trawling online shops, I found and purchased a £7.99 red and brown-handled hammer. 

My journey to work would usually be used to assess the day ahead. But instead of worrying about my speech and possible stammering pitfalls, I started saying to myself "that'll go under the stammer hammer later tonight". Then, when I got home and saw the hammer, I would imagine using it to squash the words and negative feelings I had. 

Instead of worrying about my speech and possible stammering pitfalls, I started saying to myself "that'll go under the stammer hammer later tonight".

The hammer became my personal protector. Not only did it provide a way of unburdening myself daily about my stammer, but the positive philosophy behind it also changed my approach to coping with pre-anxiety encounters. It softens the blow and allows me to concentrate on other important factors, for example, my breathing; how I will tackle pressured situations in the moment; and dealing with the fallout. Instead of wanting the earth to swallow me up, I now embody the 'It's not the end of the world' attitude.

My Stammer Hammer lives in the kitchen and can sometimes be found in the living room, sitting pride of place where everyone can see it. The symbol also proves to be a great conversation piece and gets me talking informally to friends, family and visitors about my stammer.

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The Stammer Hammer in Garry's kitchen (courtesy of Jason Thompson)

Is there a digital future for the Stammer Hammer?

After a while, I wondered, what if the Stammer Hammer could be in the palm of your hand 24/7 and not just sat next to the kettle? What if the idea could be adapted digitally and turned into a creative app or a website?

Being just a click away, the digital concept could be a fun avenue to pursue. An interactive hammer could allow the user to type in problem words and scenarios, for instance, say, 'spaghetti bolognese' and 'restaurant'.  You could then put them under the animated hammer, but instead of being cast off forever they would be stored in a word vault. At the end of each week or month a word cloud could be unveiled to provide you with a picture of your stammering experience.

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Garry (courtesy of Jason Thompson)

For parents, guardians or even speech & language therapists, the word bank would be a visible canvas to document notable areas of hesitation that can help individuals or professionals to target key areas for concentration. Or just provide an accessible means to track the person's stammer.

The dream

Why stop there? We could even explore the opportunity of creating a 'Fidget Stammer Hammer' (similar a 'fidget spinner') for young people, with a QR code on the base that parents or children could scan to propel them to the app. It could live in their school bag and become a classroom buddy for those scary non-fluent moments. 

Instead of wanting the earth to swallow me up, I now embody the 'It's not the end of the world' attitude.

A virtual community could be created, or even adopted by face-to-face support groups in each major town or city. Stammerers and their families could visit the informal group and share their weekly woes and put their words under the Stammer Hammer. It could act as a social outlet to mix and share stories, and help people to face their fears and move on to their next weekly chapter.

I hope my personal findings will be the nucleus to inspire other stammerers to follow suit.

If you stammer, or if you're a parent, guardian or speech & language therapist, I'd love to get your feedback on whether you believe there's any mileage in pursuing the development and delivery of The Stammer Hammer. Or if anyone out there might be able to make The Stammer Hammer a reality, I'd love to hear from you too.

Let's see where this can take us. Please email STAMMA at editor@stamma.org and they'll pass your messages onto me. 

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