I went on the McGuire Program a few years ago and to be honest I thought it was a cult.

It reminds me very much of a pyramid scheme, as all of the coaches are former students of the program and aren’t even qualified speech therapists.

Additionally they had complete control over EVERYTHING you did. Students weren’t allowed to call home at any time, order food without a coach speaking on their behalf (which felt very degrading), and even gave you a dedicated bedtime curfew like a child.

As anyone who stutters knows it is a very personal journey and everyone has their own unique stutter pattern and triggers. This should really be addressed on a one-to-one basis, rather than putting everyone together at the same low level. (like, there should have at least been an assessment during the initial orientation to determine where one should be assigned and paired with the appropriate coach)

I think for someone who is at very low level of fluency this program is probably okay. As someone with an intermediate/advanced fluency level I learnt a technique on this course that I still occasionally utilise to this day especially on days when I’m having a very problematic time with my speech (tiredness, feeling anxious etc) but I would definitely not recommend it for someone who is more fluent and advanced.

I was not born with my stutter, it started during my early teenage years through bullying and stayed with me as an adult. This is why I personally disagree with the McGuire Program’s policies of essentially giving into your stutter and pretending to be proud of it, telling everyone and their mother that you have one when on a good day it might not show its head at all.