OPINION — For too long, stuttering has been portrayed in the media as a negative or undesirable way of speaking. As a young man who stutters, I still see how these portrayals can shape the way people view stuttering and, more importantly, how people who stutter begin to view themselves.
If I could say anything to my younger self, it would be: “It’s OK to take up space, even when it doesn’t come out the way you expect.”
Some misconceptions I’ve observed are that people who stutter shouldn’t be in leadership positions or they’re less intelligent, less capable or less influential than people who don’t stutter. Studies and history have shown that there is no connection between stuttering and intelligence.
