BEWARE of QUACKERY!

As stutterers, most of us from time to time have been tempted to believe there is a "cure" or a "quick fix" for our frustrating condition. For my part, I have, in the past, scoured the internet looking for someone's genius invention or "cure" that I might apply to my own speech. In all of my years of reading, researching, and experience, I have only one conclusion to report: There simply isn't one.

Sadly, due to our desperation in finding a cure, we might sometimes be tempted to believe everything we read from some who prey on our desire to speak fluently. It's even more sad that there are people out there who prey on the afflicted. Their goal? Money. Obviously.

Here is a bit of quackery I ran across just this morning in my search for information. This quack boasts a cure for stuttering in 9 easy minutes! Really? Just 9 minutes? Wow! He must be a genius! Uh...not so fast. Have a look:

Cure Your Stutter in 9 Minutes!

You'll notice a moderately lengthy, very appealing letter detailing what causes stuttering. Never mind the millions of dollars and many decades of research that have been undertaken by professionals, linguists, speech pathologists and doctors around the world...suddenly this guy (Steve Stanley...who is he?) "knows" what causes stuttering. Permit me to doubt.

Next, you are taken to a page where you get to hear a grainy, unprofessional-sounding audio clip...another appeal to your emotions. He asks you to put your email into the box and there is a button below that says "FREE ACCESS' to the miracle-cure 9-minute video. I don't know what the email is for...you can just go right to the page yourself from the audio clip page. When I got to the email, it was just another emotional appeal and the same information just re-worded. And a link, of course.

Once you click that final page...BINGO...it's not "free" after all. You are immediately taken to a page where you are prompted to enter personal and credit card information. The cost for this miracle? $37.00

One other thing that should clue you in to the "hoax factor". He boasts that his "cure" is 100% GUARANTEED! If it's guaranteed, why is the phone number out of service and the email not working when you try to contact?

If this "cure" actually worked, our good friend Steve Stanley would be up for the Noble Peace Prize for Medicine. Instead, he is up for the prestigious distinction of being...THE QUACK OF THE DAY!