Woman who gave a fake name to colleagues as she could not say her own overcomes lifelong stammer

Anna called herself ‘Hannah’ for two whole years because it was easier to pronounce – but now she has ‘found her voice’.

A woman who gave a fake name to colleagues as she could not say her own told how she has finally overcome her crippling stammer.

Anna has overcome her stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

Anna Blackburn, 34, was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens who dubbed her “jibber jabber” because of the speech problem which started when she was a small child.

Her confidence destroyed, she even took to using a false name as she entered the working world, calling herself ‘Hannah’ for two whole years because it was easier to pronounce.

Anna was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens (PA Real Life/Collect)

In time, she decided to train as a teacher – but found that, once qualified, she struggled to read the morning register aloud, and was sometimes forced to write what she had to say on the whiteboard.

But now, having enrolled on a speech therapy course, she has finally overcome her stammer – and is even considering becoming a motivational speaker.

Anna, of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: “I feel completely empowered now. I was petrified I was going to be like this for the rest of my life, but now I believe I can do anything.”

Anna has finally overcome her crippling stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

For as far back as she can remember, Anna struggled with her stammer, prompting cruel children at school to mock and mimic her.

Between the ages of six and 10, she saw a speech and language therapist – but said it did little to help.

Then, when she went to secondary school, things got worse.

Anna has overcome her stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

With the frequent playground taunts destroying her confidence, she became angry and would swear a lot to cover up her impediment.

“People would think it was okay to say things about my stammer, tease me or ask why I couldn’t get it under control,” Anna recalled.

Anna is even considering becoming a motivational speaker (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I would dread the song Boom! Shake the Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince at school discos, as when the lyric ‘but sometimes I get n-nervous and start to stutter’ came on, people would point and laugh at me.”

For years, Anna could barely pronounce her own name, instead making an “aaa” sound and developing a tic where she flipped her head backwards, causing confused looks from strangers.

Her stammer taking over her life, she’d find it too difficult to say where she wanted to go on public transport, and would even pretend she had forgotten things – like the name of a friend – when asked, as she struggled to get the words out.

Anna used to call herself 'Hannah' (PA Real Life/Collect)

“While out for food with friends, I’d just say ‘same’ when it came to ordering, even if I didn’t want the same meals as them because I was too scared of having to say the name of my own dish,” she said.

Despite graduating from the University of Derby with a law degree, Anna’s self-esteem was so low that she never believed she could fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher.

Anna was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens who dubbed her “jibber jabber” (PA Real Life/Collect)

Taking temporary jobs in admin, her stammer continued to wreak havoc.

And, joining South Yorkshire Police as a secretary in 2008, she even told people she was called Hannah as she struggled to say her own name.

“I couldn’t say my actual name, but found Hannah easier, so let people think that was what I was called for about two years,” she said.

“When I was leaving and people found out, they were mortified I hadn’t corrected them, but it was so much easier for me.”

Anna cannot remember a time when she did not stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

As the years passed, Anna’s dream of becoming a teacher was always at the back on her mind.

Pushing her fears aside, she went to an open day at Sheffield Hallam University in 2009.

“I told them I have a degree in law and wanted to be a teacher, but I have a stammer and was worried I couldn’t do it,” she said.

“They were very encouraging and told me to come back a year later with experience of working with children. I don’t think I realised how bad my stammer was then and thought I would have a go.”

After completing her training at Sheffield Hallam, Anna was offered a job teaching health and social care at at Outwood Academy Valley in Worksop in 2012.

But, despite doing her best to control her speaking difficulties, she still struggled.

“Sometimes I just couldn’t speak in class,” she said. “I gave assemblies occasionally but would suffer terribly with nerves for months beforehand and would often stutter during them. I would also never dare to address other teachers in whole-school meetings.”

Despite being open with her students about her struggles, in November last year Anna reached breaking point.

Anna is now a successful teacher (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I couldn’t even read the register and it got me down so much,” she tearfully continued.

“I genuinely considered leaving my job and going to work in Asda stacking shelves. That way, I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone and could remain in denial about my speech.”

But everything changed for Anna one day in the Christmas holidays last year when she found a Facebook support page for people who stammer, and came across the McGuire Programme, which put her on the road to recovery.

She said: “For years I had come up with tricks to hide my stammer and lived in denial about how bad it was. But looking at the McGuire Programme I saw I had a chance to improve my speech, live my life to the full and be the confident and fantastic teacher I knew I was.”

She joined the class in April this year and, after completing a five-day course in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and developing breathing techniques, practicing public speaking and looking at psychological factors, Anna was transformed.

Returning to school after the Easter holidays, she was gobsmacked when she read the school register with ease.

“It was an amazing moment to go through the class names and not trip up once,” she said. One student even said, ‘Miss, you’ve got your voice back!’ which made me burst into tears, because I really did.”

Now, taking assemblies and even addressing staff at whole-school meetings, Anna admits she still has to work on her speech, but is a different person from the one she was 12 months ago.

And with two coaches from the programme supporting her, she sends voice notes to them through WhatsApp every day, to make sure her speech remains fluid.

Ahead of her wedding to her fiancé, who she does not wish to name, in November this year, Anna feels confident she will read her full vows without a slip-up.

Anna added: “I can’t believe how far I have come, it’s been such a big transformation in such a small period of time. I would urge anyone with a stammer to get the help and support they need. I feel like I could achieve anything now.”

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday following some potentially discouraging data on the economy.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% for its fourth loss in the last six days. It’s a pause for the index, which has been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 234 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7% from its record set the day before.

A report early in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. A separate update, meanwhile, showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches U.S. consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected.

Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that’s driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year: Inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession.

Of the two reports, the weaker update on the job market may be the bigger deal for the market, according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. A surge in egg prices may have been behind the worse-than-expected inflation numbers.

“One week doesn’t negate what has been a relatively steady stream of solid labor market data, but the Fed is primed to be sensitive to any signs of a softening jobs picture,” he said.

Traders are widely expecting the Fed will ease its main interest rate at its meeting next week. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target.

Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.

A cut next week would have the Fed following other central banks, which lowered rates on Thursday. The European Central Bank cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as many investors expected, and the Swiss National Bank cut its policy rate by a steeper half of a percentage point.

Following its decision, Switzerland’s central bank pointed to uncertainty about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory will affect economic policies, as well as about where politics in Europe is heading.

Trump has talked up tariffs and other policies that could upend global trade. He rang the bell marking the start of trading at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to chants of “USA.”

On Wall Street, Adobe fell 13.7% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company gave forecasts for profit and revenue in its upcoming fiscal year that fell a bit shy of analysts’.

Warner Bros. Discovery soared 15.4% after unveiling a new corporate structure that separates its streaming business and film studios from its traditional television business. CEO David Zaslav said the move “enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities,” raising speculation about a spinoff or sale.

Kroger rose 3.2% after saying it would get back to buying back its own stock now that its attempt to merge with Albertsons is off. Kroger’s board approved a program to repurchase up to $7.5 billion of its stock, replacing an existing $1 billion authorization.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 32.94 points to 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 234.55 to 43,914.12, and the Nasdaq composite sank 132.05 to 19,902.84.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes held relatively steady following the European Central Bank’s cut to rates.

Asian markets were stronger. Indexes rose 1.2% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai as leaders met in Beijing to set economic plans and targets for the coming year.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6% for its third straight gain of at least 1%, as it pulls back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law.

In the bond market, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.33% from 4.27% late Wednesday.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

President-elect Donald Trump, with Lynn Martin, President NYSE, center, and Melania Trump, right, is greeted by trader Peter Giacchi, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump, with Lynn Martin, President NYSE, center, Melania Trump, right and trader Peter Giacchi, left, walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Wednesday Dec.11, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

A cover of Time magazine's person of the year, shows President-elect Donald Trump, before a ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People gather in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Currency traders talk each others near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader stands near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)