History does not repeat itself for the old stutterer. Inventor of a method of combating stuttering that he has been dispensing for eighteen years in Paris, Christian Boisard, indicted in 2016 for "illegal exercise of the profession of speech therapist", had benefited on this crucial point from a dismissal rendered by an examining magistrate in 2018.
However, according to our information, the Paris Court of Appeal overturned this decision on Wednesday and ordered the 65-year-old man to be referred to the criminal court. It is therefore a victory for the National Federation of Speech-Language Pathologists (FNO) whose complaint filed in March 2015 is at the origin of this criminal procedure, and which had logically challenged the dismissal. She believes that Christian Boisard's activity is detrimental to the profession. Only a cassation appeal, which will be filed Monday by his lawyer, Maître Jean-Marc Descoubes, can now avoid Christian Boisard a resounding trial.
"It's hard work, people are trying to demolish me because I'm disturbing"
"This decision pains me. I was called a guru, a sorcerer, and now they want to judge me. It is relentlessness, people are trying to demolish me because I am disturbing, ”reacts Christian Boisard, persuaded to be jealous and victim of his success. Understanding that breathing was "the crux of the problem" and its blockages, this stutterer ended up overcoming and conquering his heavy handicap on his own by developing a method based on breath.
Since then, the autodidact, who deposited his invention in 2002 at the National Institute of Intellectual Property, has devoted his life to spreading his knowledge during paid internships that never leave empty, even as a result of his legal troubles. Over the years, Christian Boisard has acquired a solid reputation and a certain notoriety, relayed by his website and the laudatory testimonies of these trainees, young or adults. "Speech therapists ended up taking umbrage," slips a close to the former stutterer.
A "dangerous" method according to speech therapists
During the investigation, the FNO recalled that stuttering was a disorder involving speech therapy carried out on medical prescription. According to her, Christian Boisard uses techniques drawn from the panoply of the profession, accessible by a diploma after five years of study. Worse, the FNO considers the Boisard method as "dangerous" if it is not accompanied by a medical consultation.
Police attended the courses, the goal of which, according to their pioneer, was to allow a stutterer to speak fluently in three days. "Neither rehabilitation nor miracle, but an awareness," repeated Christian Boisard whose trainees will report that he has never presented himself as a speech therapist or a health professional.
In the end, the judge found that, given the current state of the legislation, it could not be held that Mr. Boisard was using techniques or methods that would fall solely within the competence of speech-language pathologists. The Court of Appeal, whose arguments are not yet known, had a different reading.
Grateful interns
"My method has nothing to do with the work of speech therapists. I use hypnosis, waves, and I am a mentalist," maintains Christian Boisard, ruling out any unfair competition. "The majority of his trainees come to see him in a situation of failure after years in the hands of speech therapists," notes Maître Jean-Marc Descoubes who will plead for release in the event of a trial.
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In this hypothesis, there is no doubt that Christian Boisard will call countless witnesses. Trainees who have overcome their stuttering. And give him deep gratitude, like this young Erwan: “Thank you so much for what you have done for me. Thanks to you, I can now talk more to everyone, especially my mom. ”
