ASC Youth Panel member, Phoebe, speaks about stammering

What stammering has taught me

Stammering has definitely taught me to be less judgemental of people. Growing up I stuttered and people often teased me for it and that experience taught me how it felt not to be accepted. Due to that I was definitely more kind to others who had their own problems. If I did see a person being bullied I would try and stop that because I knew how it felt like to not be accepted and to be different and have a problem. So, I general, it definitely taught me to be a more understanding person.

Why the ASC Youth Panel is important to me

Something I like about the Youth Panel is that it gives me a voice. I can share my thoughts and not be scared about stuttering as I am around other teens who also stutter, so I can just be myself and share my opinions and not worry about how I’m saying it. Hopefully I can also help other teens out there who have the same problem as me and make a difference, which feels amazing. It feels like I’m a part of something bigger and that makes me definitely feel accepted and growing up that was something I didn’t have with a stutter, and so to be a part of this big, happy group of people feels great!