24y/o. I've been stuttering since forever. I got teased a lot for it in elementary school, even more in middle school, but for some reason, it started to die down in high school. What might have helped me was I got involved in music. I played saxophone and pretty quickly became a bit of a role model and leader in the freshman class. When I had to talk, people slowly seemed to show me respect because they knew I was worth listening to. Finding something that I was good at, that I could help others with, gave me a lot of confidence, and that helped the stuttering. Sure, I still stuttered, but I stuttered a lot less and almost no one teased me for it. Fast forward to being 21. I start a job working at a hospital. The only people who tease me are Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers and it's mostly just in a mocking way. It still drives me crazy. I hate that people think they don't have to listen to what I say because I stutter, but I also have to let it go. It's their problem that they don't know how to look past it, especially in a professional setting, when all the millennials I work with have never brought up my stutter once. Fast forward again to 23. I go back to college. I start going to community college, and I'm nervous because even though I am almost never the oldest person in my classes, I am older than most people. I stutter every time I am called on, and every time I volunteer to talk. But, all semester I keep talking, stutters and all. And no one ever teased me. No one ever looks annoyed. My teacher is patient and that is a kindness I appreciate. My classes this semester, I talk freely and comfortably in class, knowing that the professor is there to make a safe space for me. And when I stutter, it's just another part of my life. I don't know what to say about your parents. All parents do stuff that they don't know are damaging their kids. Maybe show them this thread and see if they can be a bit more supportive of the person you are and know that stuttering isn't really a problem you can fix. Most importantly, and I think it would have helped me to know when I was your age, that the stuttering does go away, but people teasing you for stuttering will. Sure, there will be adults who tease you, but honestly, I just use that as a red flag for who to befriend and who to keep a bit further away.