Remember me? The Red-headed kid from last summer? I know it's been a long time, but I just wanted to thank you so much for helping me get over one of the biggest humps of my life. I am doing great, and my speech is doing even better. I still remember when you said you will always be a stutterer but since you've learned to control it, it will never show up unless you slip up… Now, I totally know what you mean. When I left Norfolk after the program, my progress on fluency slowly but surely increased. I am totally in control and now I can sleep soundly at night. I kind of relate stuttering to alcoholism. You're never cured, everyday you wake up an alcoholic or a stutterer, but it’s your choice on how you want to end that day. I learned a lot in my time at The Precision Fluency Shaping Program. Not just how to control stuttering, but I learned a lot about myself, about working hard and how much I take certain things for granted.
I left Norfolk with a whole new attitude, a new vision. This helped me in the following year tremendously. In several aspects I was slowly turning myself into the person that I wanted to be. I'll never forget the little things you did for me that made a huge difference while I was there… I felt great at the end of each day, refreshed and improving. I'm not sure if you remember, but on the last day of the program you had me read a passage in front of all the parents and all the students. It shocked me. It scared me at first, but once I started reading, it just flowed. The nervousness went away and I had goose bumps for the rest of the reading. My dad almost broke into tears. That was one of the best things you could have done for me. Thanks so much for believing in me. I'll never forget you for that.
I am working this summer, and I am off to Elon College at the end of August. Elon is a great school in Burlington, North Carolina. My senior year went great. I won a football award that gave me a $500 scholarship, our baseball team went to the championship and I had a blast the whole year. I was elected Prom King. That really meant a lot to me. It was kind of like the icing on the cake. None of this this could have happened unless I was in the right mind set and as happy as I was from your program. I never thought a year like that was in my future, and now I can’t wait for the following years to come. I used to be the funny red-headed kid, but now I’m the funny red-headed kid who never shuts up and who never stops smiling. Thank you so much for everything and being who you are.
Always Thankful,
Brian Ford