When it is remembered that nearly a dozen more or less common speech disorders can be named, almost in one breath, and that some of these disorders may pass through four or five successive stages, it will be seen that an expert diagnosis and report is almost a necessity to the stammerer or stutterer who would have reliable and authoritative information about his speech disorder.

The stammerer or stutterer who voluntarily remains in the dark, who is satisfied with gross ignorance of his trouble, is surely not on the road to freedom of speech.

The most able man cannot decide correctly without the facts. To decide in the absence of information is guesswork—and guesswork is a poor method of deciding what to do—in the case of the stammerer as in every other case.

Therefore, it behooves the stammerer to become enlightened to as great an extent as possible, to banish ignorance of his trouble and replace it with facts and sound knowledge.



CHAPTER VI

THE SECRET OF CURING STUTTERING AND STAMMERING

If the reader has followed this work carefully up to this point, he is now informed on the causes of stuttering and stammering, on their characteristic tendencies and their peculiarities. We are now ready to ask, "What are the correct methods for the cure of stuttering and stammering?" and to answer that question authoritatively.

As to the successful mode of procedure in determining the proper methods for the cure of stuttering and stammering, I know of no suggestion better than that offered by Alexander Melville Bell, who says:

"The rational, as it is experimentally the successful method of procedure, is first to study the standard of correct articulation (NOT the varieties of imperfect utterance) and then not to go from one extreme to another, but at every step to compare the defective with the perfect mode of speech and so infallibly to ascertain the amount, the kind and the source of the error."

We have already done that: We have located the cause of the trouble. We not only know that stammering is caused by a lack of co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech, but we know the things which may bring about the lack of co-ordination. Now, how to cure? Simply remove the cause. Re-establish normal co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech. Restore normal brain control over the speech organs. Make these organs respond freely, naturally and promptly to the brain messages.

That sounds simple. But if it is as simple as it sounds, why is it that so many in the past have failed to cure stammering and stuttering? Why have so many so-called methods of cure passed into the discard? The answer is, they were based on the wrong foundation. They struck at the effects and not at the cause of the trouble. And as a result, the methods failed.

These so-called methods have aimed at many different effects. One method, for instance, had as its theory that if you could cure the nervousness, the stammering would magically disappear. The unfortunate sufferer was doped with vile-tasting bitters and nerve medicines, so-called, in the hope that his nervous system would respond to treatment. But the nerves could not be quieted and the nervous system built up until the cause of the nervousness—which was stammering—was removed.

There was a time, too, and it has not been so long ago, when the craze was on for using surgery as a cure-all for stammering. Terrible butchery was performed in the name of surgery—the patient's tongue sometimes being slitted or notched, and other foolish and cruel subterfuges improvised in an effort to cure the stammering. Needless to say, there was no cure found in such methods. There is no chance of curing a mental defect by slitting the tongue and the absurdities of that "butchering period" which have now passed away, are numbered among the mistakes of those who committed them.

A lack of thoroughness marked the later attempts to cure stammering. One method was based, for instance, solely upon correct breathing. There is no doubt that correct breathing is very vital both to the stammerer and the non-stammerer, if they are to speak fluently and well. But breath-control does not even begin to solve the problem of curing stammering. It is but an element, and a small element, in the proper articulation of words. And however well this plan of breath-control might have succeeded, it could never have succeeded in really curing stuttering and stammering.

Most of these ill-advised efforts and half-baked methods sprang up, not as a result of sound knowledge but rather as a result of the lack of it. In fact, looking back at the manner in which the stammerer was treated for stammering under these methods, we can see now that nothing but the most profound ignorance of the fundamental principles underlying the art of speaking could have made it possible for these misguided instructors to pass out as science the jargon and hodge-podge which they did try to pass off as scientific knowledge. The absurdities propounded in the name of stammering cures were too numerous even to enumerate in this volume.

SPEECH PRINCIPLES FUNDAMENTAL: Back of every spoken word, whether that word be French, English, Italian, or any other language, are the unchangeable principles of speech. These principles of speech are fundamental. They do not change basically nor do they vary in the individual. When you speak correctly, you do so as a result of following the correct principles of speech. I speak correctly by the same method as you. And when you speak incorrectly, or when you stutter or stammer, you do so because you have violated one or more of these fundamental principles. Any other person who stammers or stutters as you do, violates the same principles and requires the same method of correction as yourself. The severity of your case depends upon how many of the principles of speech you violate. A diagnosis will determine this—and therefore what is necessary to be done to bring about perfect speech. The number of speech violations to be corrected will also determine to a certain extent the time required for correction.

SPEECH DEFINED: Speech, in all the diversities of tongues and dialects, consists of but a small number of articulated elementary sounds. These are produced by the agency of the lungs, the larynx, and the mouth. The lungs supply air to the larynx, which modifies the stream into whisper or voice; and this air is then moulded by the plastic oral organs into syllables which singly or in accentual combinations constitute words.

As explained in the Chapter on Causes, all of the physical organs which have to do with the production of speech and all of the brain centers whose duty it is to control the actions of these various organs, must operate in harmony, or, in other words, must coordinate, if we are to have perfect speech. Co-ordination implies perfect mental control of physical actions. And this in turn means perfect obedience of the physical organs of speech to the brain messages that are received.

The cure of stammering and stuttering requires a great deal of care based, of course, upon the correct scientific knowledge in the first place.

In attempting to cure stammering, there has been too much teaching by rigid rules and not enough teaching by principles. There are very few hard-and-fast rules that can be followed with success by every stutterer or stammerer. No set of rules can be laid down as a standard for every one to follow, for no two persons stammer exactly alike any more than two persons look exactly alike.

The only safe rule of all the rules is that which says, "Cleave closely to the principles, let the rules fall where they may." The only successful method is that which, being first based upon the right principle, is followed out with intelligence by the stammerer and administered with wisdom by the instructor to fit the needs and requirements of the individual case.

METHODS NECESSARILY THREE-FOLD: The cure of stammering and stuttering can be wrought only by a method that is three-fold-that attacks all of the un-normal conditions of the stammerer simultaneously and eradicates them in unison.

It would be of little avail, for instance, to build up perfect breath control, and leave the stammerer in a mental state where he was continually harassed by a fear of failure, by a continual self-consciousness and irritated by a deep-seated nervousness.

And it would be of just as little use to try to remove that self-consciousness, fear of failure and nervousness without removing the cause of the stammering.

In other words, when the successful method of curing stammering is spoken of as being threefold in purpose, it is meant that this method must build up the physical being, must achieve perfect mental equilibrium and must link up the physical with the mental in perfect harmony.

A permanent cure can rest on no other foundation than perfect restoration to a truly normal mental and physical condition. When this has been accomplished and when the synchronization of brain and speech organs has been brought about, the muscles of speech do not hesitate in responding to a brain message for the utterance of a word. There is no longer any sticking, any loose or hurried repetition. In other words, perfect speech now comes as a logical consequence.

SPEECH SPECIALIST SHOULD HAVE STAMMERED: It is very important that the speech expert who would promulgate a method for the eradication of stammering should have, at one time or another, stammered himself.

It is a well-known fact that the imagination cannot conjure up an image of something that has never been experienced. If you had been born blind, you would have no mental picture of any color, no matter how much you might have heard about it. Still your imagination might be a most prolific one. The utmost feat of the human imagination is to combine mental pictures to form still other images which are impossible or absurd or which in their entirety have not been experienced. In other words, new combinations of images are possible, but an entirely new or basic picture is beyond the power of the imagination to create.

So, with the specialist who would cure stuttering and stammering. It is impossible for the man who has never stammered or stuttered to know the fear that grips the sufferer when he thinks of speaking. It is impossible for one who has never stammered to imagine what this fear is like or to know the feeling that accompanies it.

For that reason, it is important that the man who attempts to eradicate speech defects should have been afflicted himself in order that his experience may have been acquired first-hand—that the suffering may have been felt and all of the conditions and situations of the stammerer may be as familiar to him as to his student.

Value of Moral Influence in the Cure of Stammering: In speaking of the necessity for good health, both physical and mental, before the eradication of stammering can take place, we must not overlook a few words about one particular type of derelict—the will-less or sometimes wilful individual who persists in indulging in dissipation of every kind, the individual who, with cocksure attitude and haughty sneer, laughs in the face of experience and insists that "it will not bother him." To such as these, no hope can be held out. Such tactics leave both body and mind in a condition that does not permit of up-building. There is little foundation for any effort and with the passing of each day, there is a tearing-out of bodily and mental vigor that makes all effort useless.

But in the average individual, physical rebuilding is a process of but a few weeks. The mental rehabilitation can usually be accomplished in an equally short period of time and when these things have been brought about, perfect speech soon follows if the correct methods are applied.



CHAPTER VII

THE BOGUE UNIT METHOD DESCRIBED

At the time a stammerer or stutterer first places himself under my care and before any attempt is made to apply the treatment, he is given a very thorough and searching examination for the purpose of learning the exact nature of his difficulty. It must be remembered that no two cases of stammering or stuttering are exactly alike and that no two cases require exactly the same method of treatment, although the same basic principles apply to all.

Even if the stammerer's case has been previously diagnosed by me, it is necessary to compare and verify the symptoms as previously exhibited with those existing at the time of his beginning treatment, in order to learn, first of all, whether his malady has more recently progressed into a further and more serious stage.

The Bogue Test: If the usual entrance examination does not bring out all of the essential facts regarding the case, the stammerer is then put through the Bogue Test—an original system of diagnosis which I perfected some years ago—by means of which the peculiarities of the trouble are brought out, the NORMAL, the SUBNORMAL and the ABNORMAL condition of the disorder is gauged and the most minute details of the trouble are disclosed. This Bogue Test covers the case from every possible angle. It lays bare the exact physical, mental and nervous condition of the stammerer or stutterer, enables me to determine the original cause of the trouble and to follow its progress from the first up to the present time, almost as easily as if the student had been under my observation ever since he first noticed his defect of speech.

I recall the case of a boy who came to me at one time for a personal diagnosis of his case. I examined him carefully, put him through a number of tests and diagnosed his case, which proved to be in the second stage and of no more than ordinary severity. He was unable to place himself under my care at that tune but returned to me about eight months later, apparently in no worse condition than before. Not being satisfied with the results of the examination, the complete test was applied, with the result that a condition of grave seriousness was discovered, marking the most pronounced form of his trouble—a form so far advanced as to make the case almost incurable. The situation was explained to the young man and he was told that it would take much longer than usual to bring about a cure in his case, although such a cure was yet possible. He expressed his willingness to spend as much time as was necessary in the cure and as a result, he was able within some weeks' time to talk without stuttering or stammering. The mental sluggishness which marked his conversation soon disappeared. He became alert and eager and when he left for home, he was a much different boy than when he came for treatment.

This is but one of hundreds of examples showing the need for expert diagnosis and for careful analysis of the condition of the stammerer even if a previous diagnosis has been made within a few months.

In practically all cases of stammering, particularly those of a progressive character, the condition is naturally changeable and common prudence calls for caution in accepting antedated facts as an indication of the present condition.

In every case, the examination enables me to gauge the severity of the case so accurately that the student's course can be outlined, designating the exact Plan-of-Attack to be used in:

1—Tearing out the improper methods of speech production 2—Replacing those incorrect methods with the correct natural methods 3—Re-establishing normal co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech.

The Method at Work: When the preliminary Examination and Tests have been completed and the student's course outlined, the actual working of the Bogue Unit Method then begins. This does not involve the practice of any "ism" or "ology," nor does it require the use of medicines, drugs, surgery, hypnotism or the "laying-on-of-hands," but by scientific and natural methods, begins the first step of the work, viz.: Tearing out the improper methods of speech production.

At every step in the application of the method, the principles which underlie and govern perfect articulation, serve as the foundation of the instruction. As has been so often stated in this book, these principles of speech never change. They apply to all persons alike, and all who talk normally apply these principles in the same manner. Those who stammer violate them, so that in correcting defective speech it is only logical that we should first remove the defective procedure and then institute the correct procedure in its place.

The Bogue Unit Method is three-fold in action. From this it takes the name "Unit Method." The first Unit of Treatment has for its purpose the building up of physical efficiency. "The first requisite is to be a good animal," says Herbert Spencer. This is certainly true of the stammerer, for in his case, normal health is a valuable aid during the time of treatment. Consequently, the first step is to build up the physical organs and be sure that these are functioning properly.

The second Unit of Treatment restores the mental equilibrium, stabilizes the mental activities and places them under perfect control. The inability of the mind to control the organs of speech has led to a condition which might be described as a "flabbiness of the mental muscles" which necessitates that the mental condition be altered and improved so that the mind can once more possess the capacity for properly controlling the organs of speech.

The third Unit of Treatment synchronizes and harmonizes mental and physical actions and re-establishes normal co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech, which completes the work necessary to bring about a cure. After both physical and mental conditions have been made normal, it merely remains to link up these two properly-working forces, co-ordinate their activities and firmly inhabitate the correct principles of control, after which it can be said that a complete cure is permanently effected.

Daily Record of Progress: Beginning with the first day, a complete report in writing is made of the progress. Each point on which the student makes progress is noted. If proper advancement is not made on any particular point, special effort is put forth to bring that point up to the standard which has been set. This makes it possible for the instructor to give individual attention to each student, something which is absolutely essential in many cases. In other words, it will not do to start the student off and let him work out his own salvation. The instructor must be constantly at hand, giving advice, correcting faulty articulation and constantly aiding the stammerer in a hundred ways to route the malady.

After having been under treatment for seven days, the student is subjected to his first treatment test. After passing this examination satisfactorily, the student is assigned additional work from another angle. Some students require as much as ten days to complete the work necessary to pass this first test—in fact, it might also be said that this test will determine the speed with which the student is to progress. From this time until the completion of the course, additional tests are given at various intervals, according to the needs of the case, until the Final Cure Test proves that the malady has been eradicated.

Conscious of the Improvement: The stammerer is profoundly conscious of a distinct change for the better by the end of the very first day under treatment. In other words, there is an immediate and noticeable improvement, not only in his nervous condition, but also in his physical and mental state as well.

Before the student passes from under the treatment, he is thoroughly aware of the benefits which the work has brought about. For, after he has met every progress test and has been examined on every phase and every principle of speech, he passes to a rigid Final Test. In this test, more than ever before, he finds the results of his efforts. He discovers that he can use his speech in any way that he desires—in any way that it will be necessary for him to use it in his future life. He finds himself able to produce any sound—labial, dental, lingual, nasal or palatal or any combination of these sounds in any language. He finds every word now is an easy word, articulation is under perfect control and the formation of voice a process involving no apparent mental effort or physical contortions.

A young woman of 20 years was placed under my care by her mother. She stammered very badly and at the time when her condition was at its worst, found it almost impossible to make herself understood by any means. After five weeks of careful instruction, this young woman had no difficulty whatever in speaking, there was no "piling up of thoughts," as she expressed her former condition, and her articulation was excellent. A few days after she returned home, she wrote as follows: "I have been talking ever since I came home and have had no trouble whatever. I just love to talk and I believe I have said more in the last five days than in the whole last five years."

Additional Results: The Bogue Unit Method of Cure when earnestly followed out by the student, does much more than eradicate the impediment of speech. It increases the weight of the below-the-average student, stops all spasmodic or convulsive efforts of face, arms and limbs and increases by several inches what was formerly a flat and poorly developed chest.

A very bad case who came to me for treatment several years ago was a young man of 26. He not only stuttered but stammered very badly. He placed himself under my guidance for a period of a little more than six weeks. At the end of that time he found no difficulty in talking nor were there any spasmodic movements of the facial muscles, as before. In reporting some time later, he said:

"When I left I tipped the scales at 20 pounds heavier than when I went to you. My folks are certainly pleased to hear me talk without the straining and strangling exertion I had before in trying to force my words out. Now they flow out nice and easy."

Many children, both boys and girls, are under developed. This may have resulted from several causes, but it is frequently traceable to the stammering or stuttering as an indirect cause. The Bogue Unit Method takes these children in a poor physical condition and while eradicating the defect of speech, brings about a healthy physical development. An Ohio woman reported excellent results in a letter which said:

"I am glad to inform you that my son Allan since taking the treatment in June last, has not to my knowledge, stammered once, for which we are all very grateful to the Bogue Method. I also wish to say that his physical condition is much improved and he has increased in weight about ten pounds."

Regardless of the age of the student, there is an increased vitality flowing through the entire body, the powers of endurance are greatly increased and the health built up from every stand-point. One man sent in an enthusiastic report in these words:

"I am fine and healthy; the people down here say I don't look like the same person. I gained 17 pounds while I was out there. I am talking fine. My mother says I talk them nearly to death. I talk them all to bed at night, so they put out the light on me so I will go to bed and hush. I went down town Saturday night and the boys were sure glad to hear me talk without stammering."

Even THIS physical improvement is not unusual.

Another man reports the change brought about in his condition as follows:

"Just about two years ago I was one of the worst stammerers I know that ever was; it was simply awful. I could not speak a word without the most terrible stammering you ever heard. My parents were heartbroken over my condition, which grew worse all the time. I did not grow and develop like my brothers. My shoulders were stooped, my chest sunken—in fact, I was in a terrible condition. After staying with you for six weeks I came home and every one who knew me when I left was simply astonished at the improvement, not in my speech alone, but in my physical condition also. Am stronger and well now and I say it is a comfort to be able to talk like other boys."

This case is not an unusual one, however, for it is frequently found that the stammering child grows into a physically deficient man as a result of his speech impediment.

Concomitant with these physical betterments comes a changed mental attitude, whereby the former pessimistic outlook has been changed to an optimistic view of life. The former abnormal timidity of the student has been replaced by a perfect confidence; the old unreasoning fear-of-failure is transformed into a feeling of supreme self-reliance; and the depressed, care-worn expression which may once have marked the stammerer's countenance has given place to that of cheerfulness.

The weak and vacillating will now manifests itself as a dominant, masterful power-of-will and the stagnant mentality of the stammerer has now given place to a vigorous, forceful, creative mental power. The mind-wandering or lack of ability to concentrate is gone and in its place is an intense and well controlled power-of-concentration. In addition to this, the nervousness which marked the every movement of the stammerer has disappeared and the self-consciousness which made life a misery is replaced by a calm self-control, resulting in an entire self-forgetfulness, perfect poise and a feeling of self-possession.

These benefits accrue gradually as the course progresses, but when, upon the completion of the course, perfect speech is finally restored, the results are fully evident and entirely permanent. Their permanency is the crowning result of the proper methods—methods which eradicate the trouble at its source—treat and remove the cause instead of treating the effect.



CHAPTER VIII

SOME CASES I HAVE MET

During the last twenty-eight years, I have personally met more than 22,000 stammerers, diagnosed 97,000 cases by mail and corresponded with more than 210,000 people who stammer or stutter. In this time, it is only natural that I should have come in contact with almost every conceivable type of stammering in practically every form.

I am going to describe a few of these cases in this chapter, give their history and description very briefly, follow out the course of the trouble when unchecked and indicate the circumstances of cure when the stammerer has placed himself for treatment.

I shall make no attempt to discuss all types of speech disorders nor even all of the forms of any one type, but rather to take up those cases which can be regarded as most common and which are typical of the disorders of the largest number of stammerers and stutterers. Since a whole volume could easily be filled with descriptions of cases, it is evident that those discussed here must be but briefly described.

(The case numbers in the following pages refer to specific cases, but not to the order of their treatment, since the classification is a decimal system used to indicate type, duration, stage, etc.)

Case No. 65.435—This was a boy of 8, brought to me by his mother after he had experienced untold trouble in school. The boy complained of a pain in his head when making an effort to talk or after having spoken under the strain for some minutes. I found the spasmodic contractions accompanying his trouble to be very pronounced for a boy so young in years and upon making the examination, was not surprised to find his to be a case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering. There was no indication of Thought-Lapse, but there was a condition that could easily have been mistaken for it—viz.: a woeful lack of confidence in his own ability to speak, which in this boy's case was due to the fact that he had stuttered almost since his first word and had rarely spoken words correctly. As has been previously explained, every child learns to speak by imitation and his confidence in his speaking-ability must be gained by constant reassurance from some source that he is speaking correctly. Early in life this boy had found that he was NOT speaking correctly and at that moment began to feel the lack of confidence which had been growing upon him daily. Although in the midst of his school work, arrangements were easily made to remove him from class and place him for treatment. Notwithstanding the fact that his trouble was unusually severe for a boy of that age, seven weeks at the Institute saw him made into a new boy, his confidence regained, his speech under perfect control and his physical condition greatly improved. He returned to school, where his unusual proficiency enlisted the aid and co-operation of his teachers to such an extent that he was able to finish the semester with his class.

Case No. 7.232—This was another boy of early school age, whose case is described here because of the contrast of the one just mentioned. The present case was that of a boy soon to be 10 years old. He had stammered, not since his first word, but only since he had been allowed to play with two children, twins, who lived in the neighborhood, and both of whom had stuttered since their first attempts to speak. While I never examined the twins, it seems from what I learned of them, that the predisposition to stammer was an inherited one, both the father and grandfather having been inveterate stammerers. Be that as it may, their defective enunciation, practiced in the presence of the boy whose case I am describing, caused the boy himself to acquire a habit of imperfect enunciation which took the form of simple stuttering and which all the home efforts of his mother and father had failed to eradicate. At the time he was brought to me, I gave him the usual examination, traced his trouble back to its original cause—Unconscious Imitation diagnosed his case as one of Simple Stuttering and recommended the procedure to be followed. This boy left my care after three weeks and experienced no further difficulty to this day, although he is now 24 years old and engaged in work that necessitates his making impromptu speeches almost every day. Here was a case of Simple Stuttering, taken at the right time, which yielded almost magically to the treatment, but had it been allowed to run on, would have progressed into the Advanced Stage of Stuttering and later, in all probability, into an extremely severe case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering.

Case No. 986.523—This was the case of a Polish boy who found it almost impossible to begin a word or a sentence. In describing his case to me, he finally managed to say, "Before I utter a word it takes me a long time and after I utter the word, I become red in the face and so excited that I don't know where I am, or what I am doing!" I found this boy to be extremely high-strung and of a nervous temperament, easily excited. He was of an emotional type, was more-than-ordinarily sensitive about his trouble and brooded over it constantly, having long fits of deep melancholia that were a constant source of worry to his parents. He was furthermore at a critical age, from the standpoint of his speech development, just approaching 16. Although naturally of an agreeable disposition, his trouble had made him irritable and often sullen. He wore an air of dejection almost constantly. It was evident to me immediately upon examination that his trouble had had a grave effect upon his mind and that it would in time (and not so long a time, either) have a deep and permanent effect that no amount of effort could eradicate.

It would be naturally expected that his symptoms would indicate Thought-Stammering, but this is not true. Instead I found his to be a bad case of Spasmodic Stammering, in which the convulsive action took place immediately upon an effort to speak and which resulted, therefore, in the inability to express a sound—the "sticking" tendency so common to stammering and particularly to this type.

While the worry over his stammering had left him in a mental state that made him impotent so far as normal mental accomplishments were concerned, still the removal of his stammering by the eradication of the cause would, I felt, entirely relieve the condition of mental flurry and stop the nervousness.

The case was so urgent that the boy's parents decided to place him for treatment immediately. The results were so gratifying as to be almost unbelievable. By the end of the first day's work, the boy's whole mental attitude was changed. His outlook on life was different. He felt the thrill of conquering his difficulty and before many days, he was working like a Trojan to make his cure complete and permanent. At my suggestion, he remained with me for seven weeks, at the end of which time he went back East, entirely changed in every particular. He was smiling now, where before he seemed to have forgotten how to smile. He was full of life, enthusiasm and ambition—no one who had seen him the day he first came here, could realize that this was the same boy that entered a few weeks before with the desire-to-live almost extinct. There are hundreds of cases riot far different from this—I have cited the case of this Polish boy to show what a complete transformation is made in the mental state by a few weeks' work along the right lines.

Case No. 87.522—Here was a case of a type that is very, very common. It was that of a girl, 17 years of age, from a good family, well-educated and having all the marks of careful training in a home of refinement. The most marked characteristic of her case was the tendency to recur. In other words, she was an Intermittent Stammerer, who had believed (as had her parents) that the tendency to get better was an indication that she would soon outgrow the trouble. "If Marie still stammers by the time she is 18—" this had come to be almost a household word, for if she stammered at that time, it was the intention of her parents (so they said) to have the girl placed under treatment. As was to be expected, she continued to stammer and continued to get steadily worse, although the tendency to be better and worse by turns was maintained throughout the years. The periods of improvement were eagerly seized by her parents, year after year, as indications of out-growing, while the periods of relapse were seldom spoken of and usually ignored. It was another case of the old saying that: "We like to think that the thing will happen which we want to happen," and since they wanted the daughter to outgrow her trouble, they insisted in believing, despite their own unexpressed fears, that the daughter would "eventually get over it!"

She did not get over it, however, and the critical age of 16 brought on a condition so severe that her parents became alarmed about her and sought advice as to what should be done.

An examination of her case brought out the fact that she had probably inherited a predisposition to stammer, but that the immediate cause of the trouble had been fright, caused by a nurse who had tried to discipline the girl when small, by telling her that the "bogey-man" would get her if she didn't do certain things as told. This disciplining by means of fear is never a safe procedure and in this case had been carried to extremes on many occasions, finally resulting in the child becoming a stammerer.

She had a case of Genuine Stammering in its second stage and, according to her own statement at the time the examination was made, had become much worse in the last two years. At age 15 it seems that everyone felt secure in the belief that her trouble would pass away, but at age 17, the condition became critical, the disorder having previously passed into the second stage.

Two and a half weeks worked a wonderful improvement in the girl's condition, at the end of which time she was compelled to return to her home on account of a death in the family. She remained at home for almost a month, after which she returned to me to complete the cure. Even under such an unusual and unfavorable circumstance as this, she remained with me the last time only four weeks, and has, according to her report, never stammered since, nor has she been oppressed by the overpowering sense of fear that formerly seized her when she thought of trying to talk.

Case No. 84.563—This case first came to my attention over ten years ago, when I was called upon to make a diagnosis. This showed the trouble to be a case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering, originally caused, it seemed, from having associated with an old man who was janitor in a wood-working plant belonging to the father of the boy whose case I am describing. The janitor had stammered ever since anyone about the place had known him and probably all of his life. In his early days, with his youth to carry him on, he had tried to hold down several jobs of consequence, but with varying success, dropping down the ladder rung by rung until he reached the place of janitor. The boy in question, having associated with the old man, early acquired the habit of mocking his defective speech, with the result that he himself soon began to stutter, which later turned into a combined form of disorder known as Combined Stammering and Stuttering.

He came to me at the time he was 28, having found it necessary to go to work on his own account, upon the failure of his father's business. I explained to him that his was a case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering, outlined to him the probable course of his trouble and what he might reasonably expect if he allowed it to continue. Having been married only a short time and being rather reluctant to leave home for the length of time necessary to take the course, he decided to postpone treatment until some later date. I heard nothing more from him for almost three years, when he walked in one day, looking like a shadow of his former self. There were dark rings around his eyes, his gaze was shifty and I could hardly believe that this was the young fellow who had seen me three years ago. Nevertheless it was the same man, with a story that pointed out the danger of postponement. His trouble had become steadily worse, he said, until it had ruined his control over himself. He had become nervous, irritable and cross, without meaning to be so, had lost one good position after another and finally, as a climax to a long string of misfortunes, his wife had left him, declaring that she would not put up with him in such a condition.

A second examination revealed the fact that his stammering had progressed so rapidly since he had last talked with me, that it was now perilously near the stage known as Thought Lapse. His control was not entirely shattered, however, and he was accepted for treatment. It was something over two months before he was back in shape again, but those two months did a wonderful thing for him, for it put him in first-class physical condition, removed all traces of his impediment and restored the mental equilibrium which had been so long endangered. Later, as a result of his restoration to perfect speech, his family differences were adjusted, and at the last reports, he was making splendid headway in a business of his own. Such is the power of stammering to destroy—even home and happiness itself—and such the power of perfect speech to build up again.

Case No. 465.722—This was the case of a man born in Ireland, who came to this country as a boy, and the original cause of whose trouble was a blow over the head in a street fight soon after landing in America.

When he came to me, he was 52 years of age and not only had one of the most severe cases of Spasmodic Stammering I have ever seen, but was in the first stages of Thought Lapse. He was practically speechless all of the time and his trouble instead of manifesting an Intermittent Tendency as it had formerly done, was now constant, indicating that he was in the chronic stage of his difficulty. Aside from his Spasmodic Stammering, he seemed unable to think of the things which he wished to say. In other words, his trouble had been affecting him so long that he had lost the power to recall and control the mental images necessary to the formation of words.

I not only gave him the usual examination but applied the special Bogue test, both of which convinced me that his case was far into the incurable stage. There was little or nothing I could do for him at that late date and so I told him. He acted as if dazed for a few moments, and when the full force of the truth dawned upon him, it was as if a cord had snapped and broken. Hope was gone. He was an incurable—and knew it now, only too well. And as he turned and left me, I knew from the droop of the shoulders and the hang of the head, that life meant but little to him now. He was merely waiting—waiting for the last page to be written and his book of despair to be closed.

Case No. 34.444—This young woman was very talented, had a beautiful singing voice and could not understand why she was unable to speak fluently when she could sing so well. The cause of her trouble was distinctly mental and did not lie in any defective formation of the vocal organs but rather in a lack of co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech. In her case, the speech disorder had not materially affected her health, although she admitted it had impaired her power of will and her ability to concentrate. Six weeks put her in good condition and gave her the opportunity to use her beautiful voice to excellent advantage in speaking as well as in singing—much to her satisfaction.

Case No. 667.788—This man came to me for assistance and relief from a severe case of Combined Stammering and Stuttering. He shook like a leaf when he talked, was very nervous, and could hardly sit still. His speech was marked by loose and hurried repetitions of syllables and words, alternating with a slow and seemingly dazed repetition of words, as though he did not know what he was saying.

In a few moments, I learned that he was a habitual alcoholic, that he was acquainted with the Delirium Tremens and that he frequently went upon sprees lasting a week, which left him a physical wreck. He had no backbone, there was no foundation to build on and his case was declined as incurable, not altogether from the condition of his speech, but because it is useless and hopeless to attempt treatment of the stammerer who is also a chronic dissipator.

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.

Case No. 48.336—This is a case that represents a very common type of Combined Stammering and Stuttering, and a type that is not so quickly cured as might be imagined. This was a young man of 18, who not only stammered but stuttered. His speech disorder, however, was further complicated by a bad habit of prefixing a totally foreign word or sound to the word or sound which he found it difficult to pronounce. "B" was one of his hard sounds and in speaking the sentence: "We expect to leave Baltimore," he would say: "We expect to leave ah—ah—ah—Baltimore."

The fear of failure which caused him to acquire this habit of speaking, led his friends often to think that his mind wandered, although as a matter of fact, he was a very bright young fellow, without a single indication of Thought Lapse.

I diagnosed his case as Combined Stammering and Stuttering, and explained to him that he represented a type of stammering that might be called the "Prefix Stammerer" because of their habit of prefixing every hard sound with an easy word or an easy sound, even to the extent of losing the sense of the sentence—so great is the "Prefix Stammerer's" fear of failure.

He placed himself for treatment, and although his trouble was complicated by this prefixing habit, seven weeks put him in good shape. He forgot his fear of failure, found every word an easy word and every sound an easy sound. He learned to talk fluently again and returned to his home, both physically and mentally improved.

Case No. 98.656—This was the case of a rather arrogant young man from a good family, who was too proud to admit that he was a stammerer. Rather it should be said, he was too foolish to admit it. He was well-educated and with the store of words at his command, succeeded for some years in concealing the fact that he stammered. This he accomplished by the substitution of words. That is, words beginning with those letters that he could not utter were not used. If his sentence included such a word, he quickly substituted another word of somewhat similar meaning, but beginning with a letter that he could pronounce correctly. This substitution of words was so well done that for some time it was scarcely noticeable to the average listener. Often he found himself incorrectly understood, because of his inability to use the right word in the right place, but nevertheless he was successful in concealing his speech defect from many of his friends.

This case is of a type known as the "Synonym Stammerer" because synonyms are used to avoid stammering. The mental strain of trying always to substitute easy words for hard ones, was very great, however, and after a few years' practice, the strain began to tell on the young man. It affected his health and made him nervous and irritable.

It was at this time that he came to me. Genuine Stammering was his trouble, and so it was diagnosed. He refused to admit that he had a severe case, although the truth of the matter was, he did stammer badly and the mental power which had sustained him in his attempts to speak, was being steadily weakened by what we might term misuse.

He placed himself for treatment, although in a frame of mind that did not augur well for his success, but by the end of the third day his mental attitude had entirely changed, he came to realize the immense difference between being able to speak fluently and naturally and being compelled to substitute synonyms. From that day forth he was one of my best students. His education stood him in good stead, his enthusiasm was so spontaneous as to be contagious and at the end of four and a half weeks, he departed, as thoroughly changed for the better as anyone could wish. The arrogance was gone. In its place was something better—a sure-footed confidence in his ability to talk—and this was a confidence based on real ability—not on bluff. He was no longer nervous and irritable—and in fact, before leaving, he had won his way into the hearts of his associates to the extent that all were sorry when he left and felt that they had made the acquaintance of a young man of remarkable power.

Five years later, I met him in New York, quite by accident. He was in charge of his father's business, had made a wonderful success of his work and was universally respected and admired by those who knew him. Even to this young man, who to many would have seemed to have all that he could desire, freedom of speech opened new and greater opportunities.

If I had the space to do so within the covers of one volume, I would gladly give many more cases, with description and diagnosis as well as results of treatment. Specific cases are always interesting, illuminating and conclusive. They show theory in practice and opinions backed by actual results.

But lack of space makes it impossible to give additional cases here. Those which have been given are typical cases—not the unusual ones. The out-of-the-ordinary cases have been avoided and the common types dwelt upon with the idea of "giving the greatest good to the greatest number."

Every reader of this volume who lives today under the constant handicap of a speech disorder, may well take new hope from the thought that "What man hath done, man can do"—again!



PART IV

SETTING THE TONGUE FREE



CHAPTER I

THE JOY OF PERFECT SPEECH

If you stammer—if you are afraid to try to talk for fear you will fail—if you are nervous, self-conscious and retiring because of your stammering—then you don't realize the Magic Power of Perfect Speech. You don't realize what perfect speech will mean to you. Listen to this—from a young woman who stammered—who was cured—and who knows:

"The most wonderful thing has happened to me. What do you think it is! I have been cured of stammering. You have no idea how different it is to be able to talk. I just feel like I could fly I'm so happy. Just think, I can talk I'm so glad, so glad, so glad, it's over. I just feel like jumping up and down and shouting and telling everybody about it. I never was so happy in my life—I never was so glad about anything as I am about this."

That is the way she feels after being entirely freed from her stammering—after learning to talk freely and fluently without difficulty, hesitation or fear-of-failure.

And here are the words of a young man who has just found his speech: "The Bogue Cure is marvelous. It is just like making a blind man see. It is remarkable. The sensation of being able to talk after stammering for twenty-five years is wonderful."

And another young woman—this time from Missouri:

"That six weeks was the beginning of life for me. All my life I have had a dread of trying to speak which made life most unpleasant. I do not have it now—I love to meet people."

The joy of perfect speech:

The wonderful exhilaration of being able to say anything you want to say whenever you want to say, to whomsoever you desire to speak.

"I can talk"—that sums it all up. With that assurance comes the feeling of the innocent man freed from a long term in prison—the sense of completeness and wholeness and ability, the feeling that you are equal to others in every way, that you can compete with them and talk with them and associate with them on a plane of equality.

Such is the Joy of Perfect Speech!!

To know that the haunting fear is gone—that the shackles have fallen away, the chains are broken.

To know that you are free—delivered from bondage.

What a feeling—what a sensation—

Living itself is worth-while. Life means more. The sun shines brighter, the grass is greener, the flowers are more beautiful while friends and relatives seem closer, kinder and dearer than ever before.

The Joy of Perfect Speech!

No words can paint the picture, no tongue describe the lofty feeling of elation which crowns the man or woman or boy or girl who has stammered and has been set free.



CHAPTER II

HOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOU CAN BE CURED

You can either be cured of your trouble—or you cannot. If you can, why should you go about hesitating, stumbling, sticking, stammering and stuttering?

Why should you deny yourself the privileges of society, the advantages of opportunity, the fruits of success—if you can be completely and permanently cured of the trouble which handicaps you and holds you back?

Why should you live a HALF LIFE as a stammerer, if you can be cured and live the complete, joyous, happy, overflowing life?

Why should you be content with failure or half-success if the triumphant power to accomplish, the masterful will to succeed is right within your grasp?

Why should you continue to stammer if you can be cured?

The answer is, YOU SHOULD NOT.

The first step, therefore, is to determine definitely and accurately whether you are in a curable stage of your trouble and whether you can be completely and permanently cured.

These things you cannot determine for yourself. You have no facilities for determining the facts. You lack the scientific knowledge upon which such conclusions must be based. You cannot diagnose your case of stammering any more than you could accurately diagnose a highly complex nervous disease. In order, therefore, that the most important of all questions, viz.: "Can I be Cured?" may be correctly and authoritatively answered, I am willing to diagnose your case and give you a typewritten report of your condition, telling you whether or not you are still in a curable stage.

It goes without saying that this diagnosis must be based upon a description of the case in question. This description must be accurate and reliable as well as thorough. In order to insure this, I furnish with each book a Diagnosis Blank, which when properly filled out, gives me the information necessary to determine the durability of the case, as well as to furnish much other valuable information about the individual's condition.

In no case, will I undertake to pass on the curability of the stammerer without a diagnosis first being made. You want the opinion which I give you to be authoritative and dependable—a report in which you can place your entire confidence. I cannot give such a report by merely hazarding a guess as to your condition. I must base my report on the actual facts as they exist. I must make a careful study of your symptoms, determine what your peculiar combination of symptoms indicates, find out the nature of your trouble, determine its severity.

When you have returned the blank—and when I have furnished you with the diagnosis of your case, you can depend upon it to be accurate, authoritative, definite and positive. It will give you the plain facts about your trouble—be those facts good or bad.



CHAPTER III

THE BOGUE GUARANTEE AND WHAT IT MEANS

No matter what caused your stammering, no matter how old you are, how long you have stammered, how many times you have tried to be cured—no matter what you think about your case or whether you believe it to be curable—if I have diagnosed your trouble and pronounced it curable, then I can cure YOU.

By the application of the Bogue Unit Method, I can eradicate the cause of your trouble at its very source, and re-establish normal co-ordination between your brain and the muscles of speech, removing every trace of that "mental expectancy" which you call "fear-of-failure."

I can show you how to place your articulation under perfect control, how to make the formation of words an easy process involving no apparent mental effort or noticeable physical exertion.

I can teach you how to produce any sound or combination of sounds, how to make every word an easy word and every sound an easy sound.

I can show you how to talk without stammering—how to talk just as freely and fluently as any normal person who has never stammered.

I not only claim to be able to do this for you, I back it up with a past record of success in treating hundreds of cases similar to your own. Like cures like. What has cured others like you, will cure YOU. But I don't ask you to risk a single penny upon even that evidence and proof. The moment you enroll in the Bogue Institute, I will issue to you and place in your hands, a written Guarantee Certificate, over my own signature, binding me to cure you of stammering or refund every cent of the money which you have paid me for tuition fee, and asking you only to follow the easy instructions given under the Bogue Unit Method.

You are to be the sole judge as to whether or not you follow instructions.

I will leave it entirely to you to decide. All I ask of you is full opportunity to do my best for you and absolute honesty, such as you expect and will receive from me.

I want to be absolutely fair with you—I want to cure you as I have cured myself and hundreds of other stammerers. I do not want a dollar of your money unless I have given you a dollar's worth of benefit in return. I would not keep a penny of the money that you might have paid me for cure of your stammering unless I had actually cured you, provided, of course, that you had followed the instructions which anybody of ordinary intelligence over eight years of age can easily follow.

I have no fear of your dealing dishonestly with me. I know enough about human nature to know that all you want is to be cured—and you understand that to be cured you must co-operate with me to that end. I can cure your stammering only with your co-operation—just as a music teacher can make a pianist of you only with your co-operative and sincere effort. Therefore, I ask only that you follow my instructions carefully and faithfully—and I guarantee to bestow upon you the same gift of Perfect Speech that I have bestowed upon hundreds of now-happy men and women—and I put that guarantee in writing over my personal signature.



CHAPTER IV

THE CURE IS PERMANENT

No one who stammers should put any faith in a cure for his trouble unless the results are known to be permanent. A temporary cure is no cure at all and should be avoided, for it is merely a means of wasting money.

The Bogue Unit Method brings about not only a complete but a permanent cure. The secret of its success as far as permanency is concerned, lies in the fact that the basic cause of the trouble is removed at its very source, the wrong methods rooted out and the correct methods installed in their place.

Once this process is completed and the cure effected, the cure is permanently insured, because its very cause is gone. You cannot stammer without a cause—everyone understands that.

The proof of the permanency of the cure is attested by the many letters from those who were here ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. A woman cured at the Institute ten years ago writes:

"At 14 I was a very bad stammerer. I then attended the Bogue Institute, where I was completely cured in a few weeks. I then secured a position as saleslady in one of our leading stores where I have been called upon to handle as many as one hundred sales in a single day. I have never stammered once. My cure has been absolutely perfect for the past ten years. It was certainly a lucky day that I walked into Mr. Bogue's office the first time."

Another excellent proof of the permanency of the cure, is the subjection of the cured student to tremendous mental and nervous strain. Many of our former students were in the Great War, numbers of them right up in the front line where the fighting was stiffest and where the nervous and mental strain was terrific. Even under this test (which was enough to make a normal person become a stammerer—and many of them did) the results of the Bogue Unit Method held them to normal speech. One young man writes:

"I completely regained my speech at the Bogue Institute in 1915. I enlisted in the army and was sent overseas in the spring of '18, and went through some of the hardest fighting the 42nd Division was in, that being the Division I was transferred to, and am happy to say the speech trouble has never come back on me. I was wounded by a fragment of high explosive shell. One hit me under the right arm, fracturing two ribs. Another struck my shoulder and a piece ranged downward into my right lung, which now remains there. I developed tuberculosis in November, in all probability from exposure as much as the wound. I was evacuated to the U.S. early last winter and sent to this place, where I am rapidly regaining my health and expect to be discharged about September 1st.

"With all the hard experience I went through, stammering did not come back to me. I have never regretted the time I spent with your Institute, and I have only the highest words of praise for the work being done in the Bogue Institute."

Another severe test of a cure of stammering is an illness such as may have brought the trouble on in the first place. If the stammerer, for instance, can undergo an attack of influenza or pneumonia and come out of it without difficulty, it proves beyond all question of a doubt that the cure is permanent.

For that reason, I wish to quote the letter of an Illinois boy who says:

"I am getting along fine with my speech. I am sure I will never stammer again. I was sick the week after Christmas with pneumonia but it did not bother me a bit."

Another young man says:

"It is now nearly six months since I left the Institute and in that time I have not stammered a word. What do you think about that? It surely is fine. But you know that. I was in Chicago last week and visited friends and saw a doctor friend of mine who did not know that I had been away, so he just stood there and looked at me, and said, 'You are talking fine. How did you learn that?'

"I told him and then talked to him for four hours and he said it was the best thing that had ever happened to me." Another letter, this time from Honolulu and from a man who attended the Institute a number of years ago, says:

"Just to let you know that I am still alive and enjoying life as I never have before. I have forgotten that I ever stammered. Sincere thanks to you."

This young man is now an engineer in the employ of the United Shipping Board.

These letters give the answer better than I can—better than any scientist can because they tell the real truth taken from the experience of those who have tried and know—

First—That stammering can be cured by the Bogue Unit Method!

Second—That the cure is a permanent cure!



CHAPTER V

A PRICELESS GIFT—AN EVERLASTING INVESTMENT

There is no gift that can take the place of perfect speech. It is beyond price—and the person who talks after stammering would give all his possessions to keep from going back again to stammering.

But Freedom-of-Speech is more than a priceless gift—it is a wonderful investment. Should you ask: "Does it pay to be cured of stammering?" the answer could be nothing but "Yes"—and there is evidence aplenty to prove it.

One young man writes:

"I have never enjoyed life as I have since I left the Institute, both in a business and social way. I am to get a 25% increase in my salary the first of the month, which is at least partially due to my wonderful perfection of speech."

Does it pay—? Does a 25 per cent. increase in salary pay? Here is the case of a young woman who was about to lose her position because of her imperfection in speech—yet when she returned home after being cured at the Institute, she wrote:

"I was very much surprised when I went down to the office yesterday to find that I was going to get my place back again. This evening, Mr.—told me that I was to get a 33 1/3% raise at the end of next week, so my stay with you has already begun to pay dividends."

Freedom-from-Stammering PAYS—in dollars and cents. On a cold business basis, it is one of the best investments to be made. One man who attended here a few years ago was a fireman in a large factory, stoking boilers all day long. Today he is salesman—and the head salesman at that—for the same firm—he makes as much as the President of the firm. He works on commission—and he knows how to talk so as to sell.

Another man was section foreman when he took his course at the Bogue Institute. Today he is manager of one of a great chain of big retail stores and makes more in one day than he used to make in two weeks.

Another case is that of a young man from New York State, who gave up his position to come to the Bogue Institute and be free from stammering. Six weeks later he went home. Like the other young man mentioned above, he met with a success—surprise—he was re-employed by his old employers—and he, too, was given a 25 per cent. increase in salary.

So, you see, freedom from stammering pays—pays splendidly and continuously for all the rest of your life. It pays in satisfaction, in contentment, in happiness and ability to associate with others on a plane of speech-equality.

It pays in better salaries and bigger earning power—in opportunities opened and chances made possible to you that are closed to the one who stammers.

The world's successful men and women do not stammer. The happy, contented people do not stammer. The money-makers do not stumble and stick and stutter when they talk.

To be successful you must know how to talk. If you stammer today, make your plans to get out from under the handicap—remember that it will pay you and pay you well.



CHAPTER VI

THE HOME OF PERFECT SPEECH

The Bogue Institute of Indianapolis is truly the home of perfect speech. For in no other place can be found the things that are found here. Nowhere else is there that silent sympathy with the moods of the one who stammers. Nowhere else is there that home-like atmosphere, that all-pervading spirit of helpfulness and cheerfulness and good-will.

No matter how discouraged the stammerer may be, no matter how tired or nervous or self-conscious—no matter how shy or shrinking from the gaze of others—no matter how timid or filled-with-fear the mind, the attitude begins to change within an hour after his arrival.

For this is the home of perfect speech. Success is in the air. Every step I take counteracts the tendency to fear and worry and strain. I know what the stammerer needs. I know the things that need to be done to quiet the hyper-nervous case. I know what to do to banish that intense self-consciousness and make the student self-forgetful. These things have been learned by experience. And these gained-by-experience methods start the student in the right way from the very first hour.

Pupils Are Met at the Train: We are glad to meet pupils at the Union Station, where all trains over steam roads arrive, if the student informs us beforehand (either by letter or telegram) the road over which he is coming and the time he will arrive in this city. There is no charge for this, it being merely a part of the courtesy extended to students who are unfamiliar with the location of the Institute. A small bow of blue ribbon should be worn as a means of identification.

When You Arrive: If you have not written or telegraphed us to meet you at the railway station, as soon as you arrive go to the telephone booth and call the Bogue Institute and a representative of the institute will be sent for you promptly.

Your Baggage: The transfer of baggage from the station to the Institute will be attended to by our office. The Baggage Transfer makes regular trips to the Institute for the purpose of looking after the baggage of new students as well as those who have completed the course and are leaving for home.

Entrance Requirements: It is necessary that every student entering the Institute be of normal intelligence and at least eight years of age. Every student must also be of good moral character and must be able to speak the English language sufficiently well to take the instruction. When a stammerer has been cured in one language, however, he is cured in all languages. Rich and poor are here treated with equal kindness, courtesy and respect. We believe in those who are here to be cured, regardless of their station in life, and we believe in helping them accomplish that purpose in as short a time as is consistent with the results which they desire.

Grounds and Buildings: The Institute Building and Dormitory stand in a large lot, ideally located, in a desirable residential neighborhood away from the dirt, dust, noise and clamor of the city and yet not so far out as to be in the least removed from the city's activities.

Board and Room for Students: The Institute maintains its own Dormitory and Boarding Department under the direct and immediate supervision of the Institute authorities. To the right of the Main Dormitory Building as you enter will be found the Dormitory for girls and women, while on the left are located the General Offices and the Dormitory for boys and men. Every facility has been provided for the comfort and happiness of our pupils while at the Institute. Room, board, heat, light, hot and cold baths and all other comforts and conveniences are provided.

Sleeping Rooms: The pupils' sleeping rooms and apartments are large, well-lighted, and well-ventilated. They are comfortable both summer and winter, ample facilities being provided to heat the entire building comfortably at all times.

All of the sleeping rooms as well as the entire Dormitory and class-room are lighted with electricity. Each room contains furnishings necessary to make the room comfortable and home-like. Bath and face towels are furnished without extra cost, as is all necessary bedding and linen. Commodious and spacious bathrooms, with running water, and modern equipment are furnished for the exclusive use of pupils.

Dining Room: Two large, airy and well-ventilated dining rooms are located in the Main Dormitory Building. Here are served all meals, made up in the most appetizing manner—wholesome menus planned for the special needs of the type of students who come here. There is no dieting, but meals are carefully balanced and highly seasoned dishes or injurious food combinations are eliminated.

Every meal is prepared under the direct supervision of an experienced chef. Under this direction our pupils are served with some of the most delicious and healthful viands which can be put together—all of which is evidenced by the students' enthusiastic approbation of the Institute table fare.

Scrupulous Cleanliness: Every part of the Institute Buildings is kept scrupulously clean—every day in the year. In this respect the Bogue Institute surpasses many of the best hotels.

Library: The leading papers and magazines are constantly available and we encourage students to keep in touch with the world of events by regular reading.

How the Time is Spent: The order of the day is as follows:

6:30 AM......................................Arise 7 to 8 AM................................Breakfast 8 to 9 AM............................Special Study 9 to 11 AM................Morning Treatment Period 11 to 12 AM....Progress Tests, Special Examination and Personal Instruction 12 to 2 PM.........................Luncheon Period 2 to 4 PM........................Class Instruction 4 to 6 PM...............................Recreation 6 PM........................................Dinner 8 PM.........Children's Junior Class Retiring Hour 9 PM.........Children's Senior Class Retiring Hour 10 PM...................Adults' Last Retiring Hour

There are no classes on Saturday afternoon nor on Sundays or holidays. There are no evening or night classes at any time and no student may enroll who is not in a position to devote all the needed time to the pursuit of the work. There is no part-time course, permitting the student to work or go to public or high school while attending the Bogue Institute. The work here is too important to become a "side-issue." We insist that it be the student's regular and only absorbing activity.

LECTURES: From time to time during the year, open lectures are given by myself and assistant instructors dealing with the fundamentals of speech or kindred subjects aimed to make for the students' rapid progress. These lectures are important and must be attended by every student.

A CAREFULLY-PLANNED COURSE: Every step of the student's course from the time of arising in the morning to the time of retiring at night, is planned for the best results. Experience has taught us what is best and the day's program is built upon the lines of greatest progress in a given time. There are no haphazard steps in this program—each activity accomplishes a desirable and necessary result. These are the things that make for sure and rapid success—and which insure that every day shall show progress over the day before.

In the work of the Bogue Institute every student's course is under my direct and personal supervision and direction. I am, of course, necessarily aided by assistant instructors, each of whom was selected with especial reference to his fitness for the work which is entrusted to him.

Every Teacher is a Specialist: Each one is a specialist—a master, backed not only by a thorough experience in the Bogue Institute, but also having served an extended apprenticeship under my personal instruction.

Every specialist responsible for any department of our instruction must meet certain rigid qualifications. First, they must be well-educated, refined and of the best character. They must understand the stammerer's difficulty from a moral and mental standpoint as well as from a technical standpoint. They must maintain a naturally sympathetic, cheerful and helpful frame of mind at all times and must be able to prove that the training under my hand has thoroughly qualified them to serve the pupils of the Bogue Institute.

The long period of training and apprenticeship, which has always been an outstanding feature of our methods, could be done away with, should I desire to cheapen the instruction. Inexperienced instructors could be employed for less than half the compensation of the experts I now employ—but these things could be sacrificed only at the expense of results. For many years the superiority of the Bogue Institute faculty has been nationally recognized and this reputation we are today maintaining—and improving, where this is possible.



CHAPTER VII

MY MOTHER AND THE HOME LIFE AT THE INSTITUTE

The home life at the Bogue Institute cannot be mentioned without also mentioning my mother and the work she has done and is doing to make this truly a home life. This is her work and she has succeeded. She represents the pivotal point around which that home life turns and she is the guiding spirit that makes the Institute a real home for those who come here. It is her beneficent smile that makes you feel at home when you arrive, her kindly influence which makes you feel at home during your whole stay and her smiling God-speed when you go, that makes you wish it were not time to leave.

Under Mother Bogue's direction, the Institute is a busy, happy, cheerful and well-ordered home for the big and happy family that it houses.

Music is here for those who wish to play. Games and books and magazines for those who would thus entertain themselves and others. We are acquainted with the truth that "all work makes Jack a dull boy—and Jill a dull girl"—and wholesome and worth-while amusements and diversions are provided for all ages and all occasions. These amusements are for those who wish them—those who do not can always find rest and quiet in their own rooms.

Rowdyism is absent. The hoodlum is not here. We find no difficulty in establishing standards of conduct that become the lady and the gentleman—and the regulations that are in effect are based upon the belief that those who come here can and will measure up to these standards.

Unity of Purpose: One of the distinct advantages of the plan whereby all students live in the Institute Dormitory is that all who are here have come for a purpose and bear that thought in mind. The student who sits beside you at the table is here for the same purpose as yourself. You are both working for the same thing—working earnestly, enthusiastically, seriously—and withal, successfully—to be cured of stammering.

What does this mean?

It means that the very atmosphere of the Institute is saturated with energy, enthusiasm and the spirit of successful endeavor. Determination, application, success—these things are in the very air you breathe. The spirit that carries an army to victory is here—to carry you to victory and success.

Absolute Privacy in Treatment: There is absolutely no publicity connected with the attendance of any student at the Institute. Many students have attended without even their families or friends being aware of the fact. Others have come leaving behind the impression that they were visiting friends—which in truth, they were, as they afterwards found those connected with the Institute to be sincere and worth-while friends, indeed.

Even in carrying on correspondence regarding the course, no one need know anything about your intentions, for upon no occasion does the name of the Institute appear on the outside of any letter or package addressed to you. Only the name "BENJAMIN N. BOGUE" appears to identify the letter.

At no time will your name, address or any information about you in connection with your name be published or discussed in any public manner whatsoever without your permission.

Care of the Health: Every safeguard is thrown around the physical welfare of those attending the Institute. The location and extraordinary sanitary precautions almost preclude the possibility of protracted illness—this was evidenced by the startling fact that during the severe and nation-wide influenza epidemic of the fall and winter of 1918-1919, not a single student of the Institute was taken ill. This speaks wonders for the remarkable good physical condition of the many students who were here at that time.

In the event, however, that a student does become ill, the Institute House Physician is at once summoned and in the case of a child, this physician's opinion will be sent immediately to the parents.

In illness as in health, the kindly, courteous and yet unobtrusive services of Mother Bogue are at the disposal of the student. Every care is bestowed, special meals provided and every want looked after with the same pains as if the student were in his or her own home.

Christian Influences: Indianapolis is a city of numerous beautiful churches of all denominations, many of which are in the immediate vicinity of the Institute. During the entire stay, students are surrounded by the very best moral and religious influences and each Sunday sees groups of students leaving the Institute to attend services at the different churches.

Children Properly Cared For: Children placed in our care are given special attention. As with the other students they are surrounded with the most wholesome moral influences. Regulations provide that they must remain inside the Institute grounds except during the proper hours of the day, following their regular work. It is a very frequent occurrence to have parents bring their children with the idea of remaining with them during the course, only to return home within a few days, leaving the children with us, having satisfied themselves in that short time that the children are being just as well cared for here as if they were in their own homes.

Parents sometimes remark that children will get homesick and want to go home, but our experience with hundreds of cases proves that it is usually the parent who gets homesick to see the child instead of the child getting homesick to see the parents. The home-like surroundings of the Institute and the care and attention which they are given, allow small opportunity for children to become homesick, especially when it is remembered that they are busy for the larger portion of the day, at work which is to them of absorbing interest. In fact, we often find that children make so many good friends that they are reluctant indeed when the time comes for them to return home. Many of our students can testify that some of the finest friendships of their lives had their beginning here at the Bogue Institute.

Care for Ladies: My lady-assistants, as well as Mother Bogue, will see to the comfort and enjoyment of lady-pupils. Ladies have their own dormitories in a separate portion of the building and find their stay a most enjoyable one.

A Reflection of Ideals: The congenial home-life at the Institute, the minute attention to the wants of the students, the care given to women and children, the solicitude for those who are ill or who for any reason need special attention—this is but the reflection of an ideal—that ideal is to make the Bogue Institute, not only in instruction and results, but in every way, just what I would have liked to have been able to find when I was searching for a cure for stammering, more than twenty-five years ago. The comforts, the conveniences, the atmosphere of helpfulness—these things all contribute toward your quick and certain success—and that, I may say, is why we have them.

THINGS YOU WANT TO KNOW

Deposit Surplus Money: As a matter of convenience to those who bring with them extra money, we grant them the privilege of depositing it in our safe. Other valuables may be left for safe-keeping when desired. If the students prefer, they may deposit money with one of the city banks. Pupils should not carry much money with them; they may lose it.

Pupils' Mail: Relatives, friends and others addressing letters to persons in attendance at this Institute should address all mail to students: "c/o BENJ. N. BOGUE" to avoid delay in delivery.

Foreign Students: It will be necessary for those who speak foreign languages to learn the English language before they will be admitted to this Institute. The instruction is only given in English, but persons of all nationalities can be cured if they have the proper knowledge of the English language. When once cured in one language, persons are cured in all languages, however.

Companions for Pupils: Parents, guardians or companions may accompany small children or others, when they wish to do so. It is entirely satisfactory for those accompanying the pupil to be associated with the children during treatment. They may room together, if desired, or they may secure adjoining rooms.

When You Leave for Home: When necessary, we secure railroad tickets for our young pupils, check their baggage and place them safely aboard the proper train, when they leave Indianapolis for home, and otherwise take especial and careful interest in having them properly started homeward after their stay with us.

Rich and Poor Stand Equal: Claim is made that this is one of the most commendable features of the Institute. It is not so in all institutes. Fine clothes and freedom with money are not the test by which the student secures his standing, but by his earnest, faithful work and gentlemanly or lady-like conduct. It is inward worth, not outward adornment and display of wealth, that wins friends and gives the student a place on our roll of honor. The student is judged by what he is, and not by what he has.

Neglected Education: No one need hesitate to place himself under our instruction on account of neglected education or advanced age. All embarrassments are carefully avoided. Scores of backward pupils, who do not even know how to read or write, enter every year, and are entirely and permanently cured by the Unit Method.



CHAPTER VIII

A HEART-TO-HEART TALK WITH PARENTS

If you are the mother or father of a child who stammers, you should first of all read Chapters IX to XIV, inclusive, in Part Two of this book. These chapters deal with the speech disorders of children from before the first spoken word up until the age of 21, when structurally as well as legally the mind and body of the infant merge into that of the adult.

No mother or father can understand their child's disorder without having read these Chapters. To fail to understand is to multiply the chance for error in deciding what to do. Therefore, I repeat, if you are the mother or father of a boy or girl who stammers, read chapters on Child Stammering before you go further.

There are three mistaken beliefs in the minds of many parents of stammering children which must be rooted out before the child will have an opportunity to be cured of his trouble.

These beliefs are:

1—That the child will outgrow his trouble and therefore need only be permitted to "grow older," at which tune the trouble will disappear. 2—That the child could stop stammering if he would try—that the trouble is but a malicious habit of the child's, which he could put away from him if he would. 3—That the child's trouble is incurable and that nothing can be done for him.

All of these beliefs are entirely fallacious and based purely upon ignorance of the cause and progress of the child's trouble. There is not the slightest scientific foundation for them, they are not beliefs based on facts or upon experience—yet in many homes, they constitute the chief obstacle between the stammering child and his complete and permanent cure.

As long as you believe that your child will out-grow his or her trouble, you take no steps to have the disorder eradicated.

What happens?

The trouble becomes worse from month to month and from year to year, until in many cases where the "outgrowing belief" persists, the trouble passes into a chronic and incurable stage and the stammering child becomes the stammering man or woman, condemned to go through life under a handicap almost too great to bear.

Write it on your heart that your child will not outgrow his trouble. Ponder over the information given in the Chapters on Child Stammering. This is not hearsay or guess-work but facts gleaned from a lifetime of experience.

If you, as the father or mother of a stammering child, cling to the second belief, that your child could stop stammering if he would try, then I can see from this distance that your child has stored up for him in the future, more than his due of misery. For as long as you believe that he can stop of his own free will, you will be impatient with him when he stammers. You will scold him and tell him to "stop that kind of talking!" Thus you will irritate him, and bring to his heart that sickening sensation that he is totally helpless in the grip of his speech disorder and yet—"Oh, why will they not understand?"