As a kid, I was definitely picked on at the bus stop and on the bus. Not so much at school. I guess gradually attaining the reputation of "the smart kid" helped me not get as much attention for it. In any case, I didn't let it get to me. I'm 25 now, and most reactions from college aged adults have been maybe a raise of the brow in realization... then business as usual. I'll sometimes make a joke about it to friends of mine, and they'll laugh (and not an awkward pity laugh), which is a sign my friends are comfortable with me. The funniest response I've ever received was when I was at the paper mill and I was visiting the crew in the coating operator booth late at night. It was a crew I hadn't seen before, but I broke the ice and let them talk and rant and rave for 10 minutes and things were fine... then one of the guys asked me, "... so how long have you had your disease?" I remember going through 3 distinct phases over the span of about 5 seconds: 1) Honest questioning - "Wait... what?! Do I have blotches on my face or something? I don't look sick, do I?" 2) Slight hunch - "Hang on...does he mean... my stutter?" 3) Total realization - "OH, HE *TOTALLY* MEANS MY STUTTER" So I had to explain to him how stuttering was not a disease, and he seemed genuinely interested. I sort of got the impression that he had lived in that small town his entire life (common for that area) and genuinely hadn't encountered a stutterer before. Having said that, I *always* love when people aren't afraid enough to ask me about my stutter, because I love helping people understand more about it. Now, the "worst" reactions I get are from strangers in public places where social exchanges are expected to be brief and succinct. I definitely have people smile and chuckle once, and sometimes they'll comment on me being stressed out, but it's not malicious. So I don't let those instances bother me.