commentr/StutterFebruary 23, 2025

Content

Awful, but they improved in the final year or two where everyone knew I had a stutter, so it was just the "norm" at that point. Teachers very rarely asked me to read outloud in class, never answered questions etc. But I still did reasonably well in my studies though. It also helped that I had a large, varied friends group where my best/closest friends were either universally popular, were from rough areas/used to fighting or very athletic etc (so if anyone on the off-chance dared to bully me, they'd soon be swarmed by a few very large, bulky guys). Plus, even though I stuttered, I was still a pleasant person to be around. Was kind to people, they were kind back to me across all classes/types of people, so the stutter was just something that came with me lol. I do remember one time where I was asked to read aloud in class (15 years old maybe), and a few people were smiling/giggling. This gigantic beast of a lad asked me to pause, then he stood up and had a right go at the entire class. I've never seen a group of 30 teenagers go from being smug, to be devasted that somebody called them out for laughing at a guy with a speech impediment/disability.

Themes

Identity & DisabilityCommunity & Support

Subthemes

Stigma & BullyingValidation & Empathy