The McGuire Programme - Red Flags? 🚩

This post will walk through my initial reactions to this program. I think it helps show /how we think/ about something.

For background, I know apparently nothing about the McGuire Program, which seems like a disservice to my audiences. To the extent that as I began researching this, I assumed it was run by Dr. Jerry MaGuire.

WRONG!! LOL. So, truly starting from scratch here, because everything I THOUGHT I knew about it was based off what I knew about MaGuire.

Incredible.

OK - I know it’s a stuttering intensive program, and I know a couple people who have done it. I know the McGuire that founded it was a person who stutters.

So let’s jump in. As a reminder, I’m a person who stutters. I have never done an intensive program, and never will. That said, I don’t have an opinion on if I’m for or against intensives as a rule of thumb. I am wary of them, because I usually hear that despite sounding ‘fluent’ at the end of these programs, the effects ‘wear off’ with time.

So - I have a critical eye. This won’t be coming from a hopeful place as much as a critical view. These programs are typically expensive, so I feel one must be critical.

Website Landing Page

The McGuire Programme landing page as of 27 Oct 2023

OK, first thing - “Overcome stuttering with our help” - already, not a fan. But people can say this line and be addressing the deeper issues around stuttering, as opposed to levels of fluency. Could be worse.

Scroll down, and what makes them unique? “The McGuire Programme is run by people who have stuttered.  We are not speech therapists, everyone on the programme has been through the programme.  We understand the feelings and emotions of people who stutter. We treat speaking like a sport.”

OK - I take issue with a few things. One is that stuttered is in past tense. Imo, even if someone is performing fluency, they’re a stutterer. Also I hate the idea of the “ex-stutter” leading everything. Makes me feel gross. Reminds me of the “ex-gay” movement, which btw, the former leaders have said was toxic and abusive.

To me, this description sounds more like an MLM than a real program.

The intensive is said to be 3-4 days, and “effective” for people 14+. Part of me takes issue with it saying it’s effective for 14+, and not that it is recommended for 14+ or appropriate only for 14+. Hopefully they don’t take people under age 14 if this is true.

There are also online and hybrid options. No age specified on the landing page for this.

The “Our Members” section on the homepage shows clickable images of people who have done the program and are part of it now, assuming. Primarily white men, though one must remember stuttering is reporting more often in men than women (4:1 ratio, I think?). Several of the people look under 18.

News and blogs. Testimonials. So far, I haven’t come across mentions of a ‘cure’ or ‘fix’ or ‘fluency’. Even in the landing page testimonials. So that’s good.

Next is the book, which you can download the first chapter of for free by signing up. Guess I’ll do that.

Overview: OK, landing page… wasn’t my favorite. But it is, at least, professional looking, and there aren’t promises of fluency, although they are implied. It is unclear to me what the results are from page one, other than helping people who stutter “overcome” their stutter, whatever that means. Testimonials and information are about taking back control over your life. I already really am wary since SLPs are not involved. While SLPs are not promises of health mindsets for stuttering, there is something to be said of their training. To only be taught by those who went through the program can create a bias, and can end up in misinformation being taught.

Pages - Courses

The program is offered worldwide. I find it interesting that the title of workshops has slight variations based on the country - but that’s not a red flag, that’s either marketing, or it’s the various “teachers” (loose definition) way of presenting the program.

Courses run from 8am-10pm.

While they have different and initial bios, the longer description looks to be the same for the various courses.

“What would it be like if you could share an experience with friends, family and colleagues or present a presentation in school or college without the fear of stuttering?” — This, alone, isn’t a bad hook. In fact, it’s a great hook. But that’s all it seems to be. Shortly after we see stuttering called a “stuttering problem”, and then this revealing nugget:

“With the McGuire Programme technique, you will learn how to achieve speech flow and overcome speaking anxiety from an experienced course instructor and their team of coaches (all our instructors and coaches have successfully overcome stuttering).”

Experienced course instructor? If these aren’t SLPs, I’ll be interested to see how this is defined. But the real kicker: all … have successfully overcome stuttering.

:|

Ok, by now, if they don’t mean fluent, it should be more clear. It strikes me as baiting PWS with the idea of fluency.

Here’s what you can expect….

Some good goals here - overcoming fears, developing self-image, less avoiding. But… “read out loud without stuttering uncontrollably” …

So, at this point, I imagine they are refusing to mention “cure” “fix” or “fluency” for liability reasons. Because it’s pretty clear that’s what they are promising by now.

Fees/Costs

OK - so initially, the program mentioned having an after-care program. But now, under fees and cost, it says there will be ‘refresher fees’. I’m already feeling red flag ready here. These fees are not part of their membership program and are additional. The membership program fees cover … possibly follow-up phone calls and coaching? And then this…

“To maintain your membership you must adhere to our Code of Ethics and enrollment form.”

Ok, it’s official, I am waving this flag.

Here’s the US fees. You have to go to individual country’s landing page to find it.

What does…. one-time payment if enrolled 2 months before course? On their landing page, they described this program as a last resort for stutterers, but they have to wait 2 months before the course in order to get this payment option? No additional information on this is provided here.

Further Course Info

On their FAQ when you click in asking if there is a cure… “No, there is no cure for stuttering, although many of our members reach the point where they have overcome their stutter; stuttering no longer is a consideration in their lives regardless of the situation.

For others, we offer a proven method of controlling stuttering so that they can embrace speaking situations they would have previously avoided.”

Ha! Community

This was interesting. One of their FAQs is if they have a good relationship with the community of stutterers:

“By ‘community’ the writer is most likely referring to stuttering associations like the BSA, NSA, ASW, etc. With some, like Norway and Denmark, our relationships are very good. With others, not so good. Mostly this is due to their philosophy of accepting oneself as a ‘stutterer’/’person who stutters’, conflicting with our philosophy of accepting ourselves as ‘people working very hard, even fighting, to overcome stuttering and become good speakers’. 

Some McGuire Programme members are active beyond the Programme as volunteers in other stammering self-help organisations such as the BSA (aka stamma) (British Stammering Association), the NSA (National Stuttering Association), the Australian Stuttering Warriors and the ISA (International Stuttering Association).

Alongside these bodies, the McGuire Programme plays its part in promoting public and professional awareness of stammering.

We are always open to questions from any person who stutters and always want to let them know that there is an alternative to just accepting yourself as an out of control stutterer.  Most inspirational people who stutter are those who have fought to overcome it such as Joe Biden, Emily Blunt and Bruce Willis to name a few.”

Wild stuff here. “Just accepting yourself as an out of control stutterer”??? What a terrible misrepresentation. Their philosophy clearly states that being a good speaker involves ‘overcoming’ a stutter and not ‘accepting’ the stuttering. I highly, highly disagree with this and find it extremely insulting. People who stutter can communicate confidently and well with a stutter.

This is followed, by the way, with a question about what makes their goal different from fluency? Emphasis is mine-

“Many people who stammer – perhaps most – enter stammering therapy wishing to become fluent. After years of negative speaking experiences, this is understandable. However, it is a paradox that fluency, when pursued above all else, can be a self-defeating goal.

Much more productive is to start with assertive self-acceptance. Learning to accept ourselves fully in the role of people who stammer can be challenging, but it is the crucial first step in beyond stammering. Interestingly, by taking the focus away from fluency as a primary objective, fluency is often achieved as a by-product.”

So… LOL WHAT?! They critique support organizations for acceptance, but then state people need to self-accept.

Refunds

There’s no FAQ on refunds in particular, but it is asked why some people “return” to stuttering after the program. As expected, it puts the blame on an individual for not trying hard enough-

“However, because they don’t practise the breathing and speaking technique or challenge their feared speaking situations, they may continue to have problems.  Some of the members who do not put in enough time and effort on their speech after their initial course and take advantage of our incredible support network go back to old habits.  However, they can then return to a 3 or 4-day intensive refresher course for only a small daily fee, refresh their technique, and get back on track.”

“Success Rates”

I admit, I can’t find it in me to care as much about success evaluation standards. I look at the page and my eyes glaze over.

From what I can see, though, they do a great job at explaining a few pieces - 1) their evalations are not done right after the program. It is 9-12 months later. 2) If someone does not respond to the survey, they say they mark those people as unsuccessful, since that is typically the reason someone would not reply.

For 2021, they show a ‘success rate’ (which is not fluent-focused. Success rate is defined as a member feeling satisfied or more improved with their life, even if they still avoid/stutter/block) of 80%. Of those who did reply, the success rate is 94%. During the year 2021,they report 100 new members.

Now - this number is based of MEMBERSHIP. Remember people can lose membership by breaking code of ethics or other agreements on the enrollment form. However, I can’t find these documents online.

I’m going to ask for it via email, I think. It feels like a major factor in determining how these ‘success rates’ are documented, and it is not on their site. But since they claim to be transparent, I’m sure I’ll have no issues getting it from them.