A WOMAN who had a devastating stammer is going on a speaking tour across the United Kingdom to help more women get into business.
Chantel Sachanna, a business coach from Birmingham, spent decades battling with a stammer that was sometimes so severe she couldn’t say her own name.
Now Chantel, who overcame the stammer around three years ago using techniques she taught herself after seeing no results from conventional speech therapy, is carrying out speaking events in Birmingham, Manchester and London this year where she’ll be helping entrepreneurs to start and grow their own business.
Next year, she will carry out events in additional major cities across the country.
Chantel said: “I can’t believe how much my life has changed. Three years ago I was struggling to say my own name. Today I’m getting ready to speak in front of large groups of people all around the country!”
Chantel had a stammer ever since she was a child and it carried on until she was around 29.
She overcame the speech impediment by using techniques she taught herself and says: “After decades of not having a voice, I finally know how to speak confidently. And now I use my voice to help women get into business and to create a life that makes them feel proud of who they are.”
In the UK, it’s estimated that stammering affects around 1 in 100 adults, with men being around four times more likely to stammer than women.
Comments Form
5 Comments
She is inspirational. I have found help from the many free resources on the website of the charity group the Stuttering Foundation (www.stutteringhelp.org) . For Spanish-speakers, there is a corresponding site at http://www.tartamudez.org (“tartamudez” means “stuttering” in Spanish”
Have known Chantel for 10 years and in all those years she has never had a stammer! Really sad to see that this is used as a basis for a story and it be factually untrue.
I went to nursery with Chantel, and she’s always had a stammer. I remember her getting upset about it in her teens. Sometimes people who stammer do an awesome job of controlling it under certain circumstances. It would be very weird to lie about having a stammer! Either way, we’re all super proud of Chantel!
Chantel is such a massive inspiration to women coming from a disadvantaged background. She’s helped so many women, including myself. I’ve been following her movement from the very start, I’ve had conversations with her personally and I think it’s such a huge thing that she has had to overcome in order to progress. We must uplift one another in order to grow. Thank you Chantel you are a Gem. X
I have a really bad stammer myself and have done for many years also (for 27 years+). However, not every person I encounter notices it or notices how severe it is, as over the years I have developed techniques such as using alternatives words or even gestures that cover up my stammer.
I would never in a million years tell someone that they are lying about having a stammer as you do not know the constant battle (the distress, the embarrassment, the anger) that they are facing with themselves to cover up their stammer whilst speaking to you.
Chantel is a true inspiration. I lift my hat off to her as she is breaking barriers that most stutterers would never dream of.