This volunteer is a computer programmer and feels that he would be a totally different person if he were fluent since he loves to talk and would have chosen a career where he would have talked more. His stuttering was first noticed when he was in junior high school at the age of 12. He reports that he was very upset and did not know how to react. He also has a first cousin who began stuttering when he was 12. His stuttering started as repetitions progressing to avoidance and blocking. At present he states that there is tension around the articulators which is visible, garbled words, blocks and avoidance behaviors. He has been in therapy at the Hollins Fluency shaping and McGuire Coastal breathing program. He is very interested in stuttering research and would love to be involved in any research projects. His goal is to be more fluent using a combination of therapy and medicine.