Case No. 34.343—­This was the case of a young man who came to me at the age of 17.  He was one of the type that “seldom stammer.”  He explained this to me and told me that many of his friends were not aware of the fact that he stammered.

I gave him an examination and found his trouble to be a case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering in the second stage.  He was of the Intermittent Type and at intervals his trouble became very bad, at which times he made it a point not to go out among his friends—­one of the reasons which made it possible for him to say that his friends did not know of his speech trouble.

This young man came to me hoping that I would tell him that his trouble was not severe and that he would outgrow it in a few years.  I was able to tell him that at the time his case was not an extremely bad one, but I knew that instead of being outgrown it would become ingrown, and I so told him.

But he decided to postpone action until some later date, feeling sure, despite what I had told him, that he would outgrow his stammering.

Four and a half years later, he came back.  This time he did not say that his friends knew nothing of his trouble.  He was in bad condition, his “seldom stammering,” as he had called it, was chronic now and the painful expression on his face when he tried to talk was ample proof of the condition in which he had allowed himself to get.  His trouble had passed into Genuine Stammering and was of a very severe nature.  There was no thought of postponement in his mind at this time and he placed himself for treatment immediately.  Eight weeks’ time saw his work completed, with excellent results.  His fear was gone, his confidence renewed and his health greatly improved, in addition to being able to talk fluently.

Case No. 66.788—­Here was the case of a man of 30, a preacher, who found no difficulty in preaching to his congregation, from the pulpit, but whose trouble immediately got the best of him the moment he went down into the church and attempted to carry on a conversation individually.  This became so embarrassing to him that he finally gave up the idea of passing through his congregation, but satisfied himself with standing at the door and greeting them as they passed out.  This, too, he was later compelled to give up on account of his speech, although during none of this time did he have the slightest trouble in delivering his sermons.

His was a case of Genuine Stammering.  The mental control when he was in the pulpit was almost normal.  Talking to individuals, this control was quickly shattered.  He placed himself for treatment after having secured a brother-pastor to fill his place for two months.  He was a good student, obedient to instruction, concentrating on his work with a creditable energy.  As a result, in five weeks’ time, he found himself able to talk to anybody under any condition without the slightest sticking or fear.  He could talk over the telephone and was master of himself under the cross-fire of conversation which in his previous state had bothered him so seriously.