54F, have stuttered since I could talk. It was very severe as a child and I got bullied so much for it. But school is a fishbowl so things got so much better once I got out of high school. I find stuttering allows for an instant assessment on someone’s character. If an adult makes fun of me, yeah…. Move along. I do a lot of presentations and also do [Junior Achievement](https://greaterstlouis.ja.org/volunteer/index). The first time I stutter, I will say “Yes, I stutter and have since I was 5 years old” then move on. One time, a young child in class said something like “that’s okay”. I thanked her as it was a kind thing for a child to say but she got reprimanded by the teacher for speaking out of turn.