I’m a 22-year-old female. I’ve stuttered all of my life. When I was a child, my stutter was severe. Now, I would say my stutter is very mild. I go through periods where I don’t stutter at all, but I also experience short periods where I do stutter. Anyway, I’m going to be brutally honest about my experience growing up and what helped me overcome the difficulties I faced. I experienced bullying by both peers and adults. In middle school and high school, it was especially brutal. I’ve had teachers get frustrated with me and give me the classic, “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? DID YOU FORGET HOW TO SPEAK? CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?” I’ve had teachers suggest that I have a mental disability and that I should be put in the “special needs” classroom. My grades were always very good and I was a good student, but my stuttering made them think something was “wrong” with me. My parents did tell my teachers about my stuttering. Some were understanding, some straight up didn’t care, and some weren’t so understanding/accommodating. People really are not educated on stuttering at all. The bullying from my peers was relentless. They would mock my stutter and they would call me the r-word. I can go on, but I would be sitting here typing all night. Going to school made me anxious every day. I became depressed. I didn’t tell my parents about the bullying. Looking back, I should’ve. For some reason, I thought I was doing the right thing at the time by not telling them. I thought I was saving them pain. I didn’t want them to think their daughter was ostracized at school and had no friends. Now that I’m older, I know that’s foolish thinking. Anyway, I attended speech therapy from elementary school to the end of high school. Of course, that helped me a lot. However, what really helped me was my parents. They provided me with a loving and safe environment at home. Coming home to my comforting, warm home was worth all of the shit I put up with in that hellhole they called a school. They always reminded me that my stutter did not make me any less intelligent and that they loved me no matter what (I’m tearing up now lol). When I stuttered at home, they wouldn’t interrupt me or try to finish my sentences. They listened to me and made me feel heard. I had a bad habit (and I still do) of bottling up my feelings, so I didn’t talk to them about how my stuttering made me feel that much, but they always would remind me that I’m worthy and loved. If your daughter ever comes to you and says someone made fun of her or pointed out her stutter, remind her that stuttering is okay. Tell her she’s still smart, still beautiful, still funny, still amazing, etc. You can even tell her that stuttering makes her smarter (studies have found that stutterers are more intelligent than average speakers because their brains are constantly working to find ways around their stuttering). :-) Maybe even teach her ways on how to stick up for herself if someone does make an insensitive comment when you’re not there to protect her. Tell her stuttering is what makes her different, and that it’s okay to be different. It’s good to be different. Everyone has something that makes them different. My main point is: Keep telling her that stuttering is okay. Learning to accept your stutter is key. The more angry you become, the more discouraged you are...The harder it is. She will be more resilient, more persistent because of her stutter. Trust me on that. Now, I am in my last semester of undergrad. I will be going to graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist (ironic, I know). I learned to accept my stutter the hard way. One random day, I came to that realization that my stutter wasn’t going anywhere and that it was okay. In my senior year of high school, I had a presentation in English. Despite knowing I was going to stutter throughout my whole presentation, I got up, I went to the front of the classroom, and I did it. After class, I got the usual mocking. And well...I blew up. I was done putting up with being ridiculed and with thinking I’m inferior to others. After that day, I stopped being so ashamed. Now, I’m at the age where bullying is less common. However, if I do stutter in front of others and they look confused or give me weird looks, I tell them, “I stutter, that’s why my speech is the way it is sometimes.” On some days, when I really don’t feel like dealing with bs, I don’t even say anything in these situations and I just let it be. I’m capable, I’m a good person, and I don’t need to prove that to anyone. I have a pretty thick skin now and not much gets to me anymore. Hopefully, your daughter has more people in her life that make it easier and not harder. You making this post shows you truly care about how to help her with her stuttering, and having you and your wife will definitely help her along her journey. People are cruel, but accepting your daughter and her stutter will mean the world to her. Stuttering can suck. There will be days that she gets angry, sad, etc. However, I tell myself that it could always be worse. Letting her know it’s okay will make all the difference. I hope this helped a little. Best of luck!