Feel the fear and do it anyway: hard advice for teenagers who stutter

If you stutter, high school can be hard.

Stuttering is common:  1% of people stutter. 

But, too often, ignorance, prejudice, teasing and bullying at school run rampant.

When you stutter, it’s logical to want to avoid hard situations:

• answering questions;
• joining class discussions;
• reading aloud;
• public speaking;
• seeking help from teachers.

Sometimes, it seems safe to avoid hard stuff:

• tricky words;
• situations where you might stutter;
• talking with others.

If things get really tough, extreme measures might seem tempting:

• calling in sick;
• skipping class; 
• acting out to get suspended;
• dropping out altogether.

But avoidance is not a good long-term strategy.

Over time, avoidance can:

• increase anxiety, including social anxiety; 
• limit opportunities to meet new people, make friends and have fulfilling relationships;
• reduce opportunities to explore interests and passions; 
• hamper learning and academic results;
• distort reality, leading to irrational beliefs about the world;
• lower expectations about what’s possible in life.

 Speech pathologists can and should support you by:

• educating teachers and your peers about stuttering;
• encouraging teachers and peers to have zero tolerance for teasing and bullying;
• connecting you with other people who stutter (you are not alone!); 
• encouraging you to challenge your fears and tackle hard things;
• supporting you to find evidence-based help if you feel socially anxious, including free online resources (see below).

Read more:

Lowe, R., Menzies, R., Onslow, M., Packman, A., O’Brian, S. (2021). Speech and Anxiety Management With Persistent Stuttering: Current Status and Essential Research. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 14;64(1):59-74. doi: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00144. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8608149/ (Open access)

Helgadóttir, F. D., Menzies, R., Onslow, M., Packman, A., & O’Brian, S. (2014). Safety behaviors in speech treatment for adults who stutter. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(4), 1308–1313. JSLHR-S-13-0041

iGlebe: Free online tool for people who stutter (University of Technology Sydney)

Related articles:

• SLPs who support people who stutter must keep learning from experts (people who stutter)
• How to help teenagers who stutter (and their families)

This article also appears in a recent issue of Banter Booster, our weekly round up of the best speech pathology ideas and practice tips for busy speech pathologists, speech pathology students, teachers and others.

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