A SPEECH therapy course that was featured in the recent ITV documentary 'School for Stammerers' has helped a Skipton man overcome his stammer in his professional and personal life.

Anthony Gray, 29, who began his new job as a coastal analyst at JBA Consulting in Skipton six months ago, has had a long journey to come to grips with a stammer he has had since childhood.

"As far as I know, I've had a stammer all of my life," recalls Anthony. "My older brother had a stammer as a toddler, but while he grew out it, I kept mine.

"A lot of young children have speech problems, and my stammer developed over time. Everyone always said I would grow out of it, but throughout school I went to NHS speech therapy.

"It was quite hard and so I developed a strategy to combat my stammer," said Anthony. "Being an angry kid was how I got through school.

"I know it was not the best thing for my personality and I didn't develop the right social skills growing up, but a stammer is such a big part of you because it takes over and influences part of your behaviour."

Anthony went on to study Civil Engineering at Cardiff University, but once he finished he said his stammer made it difficult to get a job.

He said: "I got through the course ok and got a decent qualification, but I was getting nowhere with interviews."

So in 2011 at the age of 21, Anthony enrolled in the McGuire Programme, the same course which was featured on the recent ITV documentary 'School for Stammerers.

After the initial intensive four-day course, Anthony is now a lifetime member and receives ongoing support.

"It's great value in terms of what the course gives you," said Anthony. "It strips your speech back to bare bones and uses the Coastal Breathing method, which is taught to opera singers to give them a more powerful breath," he said.

"That's the main physical tool taught on the McGuire Programme, but the stuff that goes on inside you, such as guilt or fear, is much more of an issue.

"Stammering can make you feel so small. Having a big block in a situation where you need to talk is an aspect that needs to combated.

"The course helps get that fear of stammering under control.

He said one of course's main tasks is getting participants to introduce themselves to 100 people on the street, which Anthony said was difficult "when you've avoided speaking to people your entire life".

"That was the biggest fear for me because speaking to people advertises yourself as having a stammer."

One of the biggest strengths of the McGuire course is that all of the coaches have been through the programme themselves.

"In terms of how the programme improved my life, it has been a pretty dramatic change," said Anthony "When I used to go out, I would give my friend some money to order my drinks, which made me feel small. But now I order my own food and drinks."

He also said the McGuire Programme helped give him confidence to do presentations.

When he was set the task of doing a poster presentation at the International Conference on Ocean Energy at Edinburgh in 2016, his newly found confidence in speaking helped him win first prize in the competition.

"I had to speak clearly and precisely and the presentation was quite technical, so to win first prize was a nice achievement."

Anthony graduated from the University of Exeter with an Engineering Doctorate in Offshore Renewable Energy, and his ability to do presentations led to his appointment as a coastal analyst at JBA Consulting in Skipton.

Anthony said: "I do coastal flood modelling using numerical models on how bad a flood would be in a coastal area."

The next McGuire course in the Craven area will run from April 11 to April 15 at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.

To find out more about the course and the McGuire Programme, visit mcguireprogramme.com/en/uk/events/2018-04-11-000000-2018-04-15-000000/harrogate