‘Lockdown has made my stammer worse’ When your speech is something you need to 'warm up' on a daily basis, being stuck at home with minimal human contact becomes a problem 16 March 2021 • 1:40pm William Laven has used lockdown to 'practise' on his stammer with an exercise routine that includes reading passages of text out loud Even before I Can’t Say My Name, the BBC One documentary, was broadcast this week, stammering was attracting some recognition. This was, in part, due to the election of Joe Biden to the role of President of the United States: the 78-year-old has been open about the stammer he’s had since boyhood and which manifested in a number of debates.