'I'm proud to be me' Traitors Jessie inspiring others who stammer

12 hours ago

Charlie O'LoughlinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — Lindsey Smith wants to show her daughter it is okay to embrace your authentic self

Lindsey Smith A woman and a girl pose for a picture with their heads tilted to the side. The woman has blonde hair plaited back off her face, she wears a pink, orange and yellow dotted dress and a thin gold necklace. The young girl has dark hair scraped back, and wears a one-strap black top. Behind them both is a detailed silver wall panelling. — Lindsey Smith wants to show her daughter it is okay to embrace your authentic self

Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the ongoing series of The Traitors.

When Jessie Stride spoke on The Traitors about struggling to pronounce her own name, it struck a chord with Lindsey Smith.

Lindsey, from Scunthorpe, has had a stammer ever since she began to talk. She remembers being picked on at school and said she spent years trying to hide something she now proudly embraces.

"There's certain things that you can't avoid, just like saying your name. If you speak to any stammerer, that's the stumbling block for anybody. I think that's also made me more confident because I can't hide it and I'm proud to be me."

According to charity STAMMA, 8% of children and at least 1% of adults worldwide are affected by stammering, the speech disorder.

Stammering, or stuttering, describes a condition where the flow of spoken words is altered by repetitions or prolonged sounds.

Often, those with a stammer swap words they struggle with in favour of those easier to pronounce.

Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry/PA Two women look visibly shocked. The one on the left has dark hair, with fringe framing parts on her face and a small bun on one side. She wears a dark jumper with a silver zip detailing and a green necklace. The woman on the right has bright orange hair, has both hands to her face in a shocked expression and wears orange and red eyeshadow. She has a yellow bobble on her wrist and wears a striped knit jumper. The pair sit on red velvet chairs at a dining table. — Appearing in this year's The Traitors, Jessie is a hairdresser from Hull and has a stammer

Working in a family support role in education, Lindsey said her stammer was her "superpower", and helped her to empathise with parents going through challenges.

"When I was growing up, I got picked on at school, and then it progressed to hating to answer the telephone. I used to go into a different room and hide because I hated answering the phone."

She added: "It knocks your confidence to a point where you think 'I'm not worthy or people think that I'm silly or stupid'."

'A covert stammerer'

Wendy Ronaldson Two women with silver framed glasses smile at the seaside. The woman on the left has grey hair, silver glasses, and wears a black coat and black jumper. The woman on the right has blue hair, silver glasses and wears a patchwork coat with a blue t-shirt. Behind them is a beach, with the sea far out and a blue sky dotted with clouds above them. — Wendy and her twin sister both have a stammer and said they relied on each other growing up

Artist and trainee psychotherapist Wendy Ronaldson said seeing Jessie on The Traitors had been a powerful moment for many people who stammer.

"I think it helps them think that they're not on their own and it's okay to stammer.

"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just a different way of speaking. It's not wrong. And she's just an advocate for people who stammer.

"I love her. I don't even know her, but I love her!"

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside Wendy said: "I've had a stammer since I was about five years old. I've also got a twin sister who stammers.

"I've been mainly covert. By covert I mean hiding my stammer to appear fluent by not talking to people, not socialising sometimes, diverting the conversation, tactics all used to appear fluent.

"But I'm working on being overt."

Wendy's Art A woman sits in a dark room surrounded by computers displaying close ups of eyes in varying colours. The lady has brown hair and a floral blouse and looks away from the camera, she sits at a white table with a blank piece of paper and a pen on. Over the top of the picture reads 'Silence Speaks Volumes by Wendy Ronaldson', and there is a blurry image of an eye barely visible. — Wendy Ronaldson turned to art as a way of telling her stories

Wendy said she often avoided speaking when she was younger and turned to art as a way of expressing herself.

"I became creative because I knew there was more to it than meets the eye. It was a bit of a diversion, I think, from talking."

She said people did not always know how to respond.

"I don't think people really knew what to do when I was stammering. I used to get laughed at, but I think that was because I was unsure.

"I found it defined me a bit when I was younger because I didn't know much about it.

She said that speech and language therapy had helped her to feel more confident.

'Bumpy stammered speech'

Nicky West A blonde-haired woman and a bald older man have their heads touching as they smile directly at the camera. The lady wears a black blouse with a layered gold chain necklace. The gentleman wears a blue polo shirt unbuttoned at the top and has a small white detailing on the collar. The background behind the pair is blurred out and conceals their surroundings. — Nicky said her dad Carl's stammer allowed her to grow up with the disorder in a positive light

Nicky West is a speech and language therapist from East Yorkshire. She said her dad's stammer made him a role model.

"Hearing fluent, smooth talking, and bumpy stammered speech was my day-to-day norms.

"My dad was a really successful businessman. So for me, it was a really positive role model that I had for hearing all those different kinds of voices."

Nicky said a growing stammering pride movement on social media was helping to change attitudes.

"There isn't anything wrong with it. Not everyone needs to be fluent, but what we want to do is make sure that people are confident in what they're doing, that they're not avoiding situations and it's not being a massive barrier.

"Stammering isn't always something that needs fixing."

BBC/PA A large group photo of men and women all sat around a firepit. They are in front of a grand castle with floral bushes behind them. The group is split equally down the middle, half sat on either side of the firepit. In the middle stands a woman with long black hair and a full fringe- she looks directly at the camera whilst everyone else looks away. The sky behind them is a mixture of pinks and blues. — Jessie was murdered by the Traitors on Friday 16 January, after she came close to uncovering them at the round table

Nicky said Jessie's time on The Traitors had proven her as a "wonderful ambassador".

"I think she's been absolutely amazing. It just shows that it doesn't have to stop you doing anything.

"My only regret is she's now no longer in it, because to have that presence has just been fantastic and it would have been brilliant if they had it just a bit longer!"

The final of The Traitors airs on 23 January on BBC One and iPlayer at 8.30pm.

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look Northor tell us about a story you think we should be coveringhere.