What I Do Or Say When I Get Teased About My Speech

If you would like to add something, please email me

Whenever someone is teasing me about my speech, I say "Yes, I stutter, and I am working on getting my speech better." (from Lisa, age 10)

When kids make fun of me I just ignore them and walk away and never talk to them at all.(Lindsey - 12 yrs old)

When kids tease me about stuttering, I just walk away and think about it. (Tanner, age 9)

I feel sad 'cause kids sometimes make fun of my speech,too So, just remember you're not alone and no words can hurt you at all. The most important thing is that stuttering is not funny and it's not your fault. If you stutter just say, "I am proud of myself." (Lindsey -12 yrs old)

I'm not a kid anymore, but I still stutter sometimes. When I was a kid and someone would tease me, I would say, "That's just one of the differences between you and me." That would get the teaser wondering what the other differences were, and if they were good or bad differences! and many times they would stop teasing me about my stuttering. (Doug H., adult)

When I'm teased, I say "I can't help it" and then I ignore them. I just forget about it. (TJ - 10 years old and in 5th grade)

Just one thing to remember - if somebody "makes fun" of you for stuttering then their problem is much worse than yours. (Samantha, age 13)

Some one I met recently told me of a great thing she says: "Do you stutter too or are you just rude?" (posted on stutt-l by Sandra, adult)

I say "Ya know who Bo Jackson is? Greatest football/baseball player in history. He stuttered too!" [Kyle, age 9]

Sometimes I just want to beat them up, but I never do that. I just walkaway from them and go do something else. [Brandon age10]

Whenever I stutter and somebody teases me, I pretend to stutter, but make it clear that I am just pretending. For example, I say, "You no-no-no-no-no-no-no-ticed?" That makes most people laugh in a friendly way. (Eva, Age 11).

When I get teased about stuttering, I just say, "Yes, I do stutter and that makes me unique" or "If you don't like the way I talk, don't listen to me". (Ally-8 yrs old)

One of the ways I dealt with teasing is that I did a report about stuttering & presented to my class in 4th grade.I'm glad that I don't have to hide anything anymore. (Eric - age 9)

I feel bad when people make fun of my speech. If people tease you, you say "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me!" You can always tell an adult or friend if it happens and sometimes that helps too. (Nickolas, age 8)

I say, "Just because I stutter doesn't mean I have a problem. I am trying my best not to stutter. If you stuttered and I didn't stutter how would you feel if I made fun of you?" (Paris, Age 9, 4th grade)

Sometimes when people tease me, I just say "you're not perfect too you know. " and I go to bed earlier and I talk slower to people. (David, Age 10)

When I get teased about my speech I just say "I stutter and I don't think it's funny, either!" (Daniel, age 11)

When I get teased about my speech I just don't say anything. I walk away and think about it. And if it happens again by the same person I say, "I'm working on getting it better" or I make a silly remark about it and that makes them laugh. (Greg, age 10)

Wene i get tesed I tell thim off. (TJB3)

When people make fun of me I tell them I am going to speech to help me talk better. Sometimes I say, "How would you like it if I made fun of something you do." I tell them to stop but if they don't I tell the teacher. That usually makes them stop. (Kris, Age 8)

One good way to not have anger build up inside is to, breathe in deeply, hold your breath and slowly let it out. Another good idea is to talk to somebody about it, like your speech teacher. (Nicholas, age 12)

I take speech because I can't say my Rs right. When kids teased me I tried not to talk in front of them because if I did they might tease me again. When I grow up I want to be a singer. Kids would tease me because I couldn't sing well. My mom told me just to ignore them. I tried it and it worked. I found out the only reason they were teasing me is because they knew it annoyed me. Maybe that will work with teasing about speech, too. (Kerry, age 10).

When I am made fun of about my stuttering I ignore it the first few times. But if that person constantly makes fun of my stuttering, ignoring them won't help. So I just punch them and they don't make fun of my stuttering ever again. (Elliott, 11) (Maybe you want to talk about Elliott's, and other kids' ideas, too, with your speech teacher or your mom and dad).

When I get teased about my stuttering, I say "Hey, it just comes up on accident. But luckily I have a speech teacher to help me." If they keep on teasing, I just walk away and don't play with them for like a year. (Carl, age 9)

What I do or say when I get teased about my speech is I say "I do not like to be teased with my speech and how would you like it if I teased you?" or I will say, "Stop teasing me just because I stutter and I am a little different than you." (Steven, age 8)

When I stutter some people in my club tease me, but here's the good part. One of the people in the club said don't make fun of him! and it stopped. (Craig, age 7)

I feel sad when someone teases me. I feel awful, and get really mad and I run away from them. I even tell the teacher. (Kevin, 8 years old).

Sometimes people call me stutter boy. When they do that it makes me mad, but I know not to say something rude back. My advice is when someone calls you a name don't say something back cause you will get busted.(Chris age 10)

Who cares if I stutter, because I get to go to Speech and play games and it could help my speech do better. (Michael, Age 9)

If I got teased I would not like it, so I would tell them to stop. If they did not stop, I would try to be friends with them and they would play with me and they would be nice to me. (Frankie, 9 years old)

When I get teased, (but I don't get teased a lot) I just laugh before they get a chance to. (Richard C., grade 4)

When people tease me, I don't listen to them. I just walk away! (Jake , age 7)

When I get teased about my stuttering sometimes I walk away and sometimes I say" yes I do " and then I go about my business. (Tegan, age 9, 4th Grade)

If you get teased about your talking, you don't need to fight back. I use "DESC." Describe what the person said or did: Emotion - tell the person how what they said/did made you feel; State what you want them to do; and Consequence - tell the person what you'll do if they don't stop teasing you. (by Jadel, age 8, first published in Stutter Buddies, vol. 3, issue 2).

If someone says to me, "Oh you stutter, you're a stutterer, haha" or something like that, I go to them "Now tell me something we both don't know." Another idea I use, I will just stare at them for a second and say, "Duhhhhhh" and walk away. (Kevin, age 10)

When I stutter, I say, "I can stutter better than you can!!!!" That throws them off, they don't know what to say back. (Jared, age 8).

If a kid is teasing you, you can tell the kid's mom when she comes to pick them up after school, or you can tell the teacher. Or say, "I don't like you teasing me!" (Ben, age 6)

When Kids tell Me that I talk funny I might feel bad inside and don't talk to them anymore but if I tell them that I stutter before I talk that might make them not say anything about me and my funny voice". (Greg age 11)

What do I do when I get teased about stuttering - "When I stutter, my friend Scott says, 'That's no big deal about it' and that makes me feel good." (from Dustin, age 8

When people tease you or make you feel sad about stuttering remember, it's okay that you stutter because it is something that is not your fault and you can change it. Don't cry when you stutter, just try to use easy speech. (from Leon, age 10 and Nathan, age 6)

When people make fun of you, that means that they are inconsiderate. So when they make your problem seem bigger , they try to make their problems smaller. So when they say names and mock you just think, "What is their problem" and laugh and say, "Well at least I stutter and it's NOT MY FAULT -- being mean IS YOUR FAULT. (Lewis, age 11)

When people tease me about the way I talk it makes me feel sad and mad. My Mom told me just ignore them and I said, "Please stop calling me names". It works sometimes. (Robert, age 11)

Even adults get teased about their stuttering. This is how my friend Vicki handled it. She wrote: Some people just don't think. It took me a long time to realize that. For a long time I took it personally. But now I don't. I was in my office and this kid came in. He asked me where a copy machine is, and I started telling him, and, as always, I stuttered. Well, he started laughing and mocking me, and I tried to continue, and he laughed and mocked even more. Finally, I said, "I stutter This is the way I talk. I've talked like this my entire life. You probably don't realize it, but you're being very mean to me." The guy stopped, and his jaw dropped to the floor. He got very embarrassed and began to apologize. "It's okay," I told him. "You just didn't know. I could tell you weren't a mean person."

All of you out there that are stutterers, that's ok. I feel really bad too when people make fun of me. I always say to myself I am unique in a very cool way and those who make fun of you aren't unique and that's all you have to say to them. (Nikki)

I got teased in 5th grade by my peers and I didn't know how to handle it until our vice principal told me kill them with kindness. (Brian)

It does matter to me what people say but it hurts the most when my own brother teases me. Next time I will just tell say to them, "Do I make fun of you?" Shaquan, age 11)

I have been teased and really don't have a problem with it. I just ignore the kids who tease me. If that doesn't work I tell my mom or the closest adult. (no name)

When some kids are teasing me and asking me about my stuttering I just say "Hey I was just born that way." (Chris, age 12)

When kids make fun of me I just say, "At least I'm working my very hardest on my stuttering." (Champam, age 12)

Most of the time kids tease because they are curious. Talking about it with a parent or speech teacher is a great idea. Ignoring teasing is the best thing to do. (Ryan, age 12)

I really don't listen to what they say. I just "turn the other cheek." (Joy)

Whenever a kid teases me by acting like they are stuttering I just look at them and say "You aren't very good at that do you want to meet later and I can really teach you how to stutter?" That usually makes them look dumb so they walk away. (Nathan age 12)

Most of my peers know me and have grown to know my speech problem. They still like me and are still my friends. So no one really teases me. If and when they do i just say 'Really? I'm glad that you're smart enough to notice' It makes that person look really dumb because I said they were smart. (Demerti Age, 12)

If you are teased, than you can say,"What you say is going to come back to haunt you later." (J.P. - sent on Halloween!! 2002)

When people tease me about my stuttering I TELL THEM I'M WORKING ON IT. If they still do it I walk away. (Heather age 9)

When I get teased, I ignore it and think about something else. (Alex, age 5)

What I feel like when I get teased. I feel like I just want to get up and rib on that person. If they make fun of you just rib on them then maybe they won't anymore. Here are some ribs -- look at your nose, look at your clothes, look at your toes. (kristin, age 12)

When I get teased sometimes I just want to hit the person, but a friend will tell me "You are better than that". Then we will walk away, but sometimes, when you think about it, you get mad. When I get mad I go home and play with my dog. He makes me happy, so if you have a pet play with them. (Darren, age 12)

When I get teased I just say something like "Well atleast i dont have a big nose" and they usually walk off or I just ignore them or say "Get a life." (no name)

I used to get teased at school because I stuttered but I just said to everyone how would you like it if someone said oh you are really ugly and so they just be patient and let me talk now. (Clare, age 11)

When someone makes fun of me by pretending to stutter, I just say "that's not how you stutter!" and that gets them to stop. (George, age 9)

I say "Lots of people stutter, so does my mom." (Addie, age 6)

I tell my speech teacher or my homeroom teacher. (Willie, Age 9)

I say if you don't like me for who I am then you're not my friend. (Zachery - age 9, grade 3)

It doesn't matter what people said to you. Just believe in yourself. (Micah, age 11)

When kids make fun of me I just ignore or if they really get on my nerves I'll just tell them to be quiet or just tell. (Cameron- 11 years old)

I think the kids that are teasing are just trying to get attention. I think if parents try to sit down and try to calmly talk about the problem, I think the children will open up more and feel free to talk more about the problem. (Brooke, age 11)

When someone teases me I ask them to stop. Sometimes they stop and sometimes they don't. When I'm at home with a relative he always understands. He teaches me to not listen to them, just be yourself. My family tells me to not be sad, but it upsets me when my friends don't understand. (Manuel, age 9)

Sometimes, people will say, "What" over and over when I stutter. I just say, "Do you understand English?" But, I say it in German. (Sam-age 11)

What I do when people tease me when I stutter is I think of something else that I like. I ignore the people that tease me and walk away. I don't hang out with people that are mean to me, I just hang out with my friends since they don't mind me stuttering. They like me anyway. (James)

When People make fun of u try to ignore it. If u can't tell a trusted adult (anonymous)

I stutter too! When people tease me I don't say anything because I'm afraid that I will stutter again and that will just lead to more teasing. (Kyle, age 11)

People say, 'why do you stutter,' and I say, 'because I was born this way." (Anthony, age 8)

Yesterday I talked to the kid who teases me the most everybody else pretty much just follows him, and I said "I dont like when you tease me" and he said, "Whatever Dude just 'chill out'" and everybody left me alone. (Wyatt, age 12)

One day at school, somebody called me a baby because I couldn't pronounce my words. And then, I told him to quit and he didn't and then I just ignored him. (Ryan, Age 8).

IF Somebody IS teasing ME I Would just say "don't you stutter sometimes too" and IF THEY say it again I WOULD ignore him or her. (Sonny, age 9)

When I get teased about my speech, I ignore them. (Jordon age 10, fifth grade)

If someone teases me i just walk away from them. if they still tease me i talk it over with my mom or dad . (Brandon, age 9)

If you get teased, you could try to use Easy Speech and stretch out your words. Or you could walk away or ignore them. Or you could say "who cares?". (Joe, age 8).

I am in 3 rd grade and I am 9 years old. I am writing this message to help people when their older brother teases them. When your brother teases you, you should either walk away or say "I am proud of my speech". I feel so sad but I know there are more people out there that stutter. Talk to your family or speech teacher about it. (Nathan, age 9)

When kids in my class tease me about my stuttering sometimes I lose my temper and yell at them, but that doesn't mean you should yell at them too. I should instead say I'm trying my best and not yell at them. And it's usually the same people who tease me. (Ryan 11)

When people make fun of you, you should say, "I don't care that I stutter. I like me for who I am and not the way I speak." Tell them that you don't care what they say. They might still tease you but they will notice that it's not making you mad or upset and they would stop. (Adrian)

I would say, "Do you know James Earl Jones? He is the best actor ever and he played Darth Vader in Star Wars and he used to stutter." (Travis, 9 years old).

When someone teases me I walk away or tell a teacher or a grown up. (Andrew, age 10)

What I do when I get teased on the bus I just turn my head away and stare out the window, and look at the world. (Brendan, Age 10)

I would say "So what?" or "I can stutter better than you!" (Diante, age 13)

I would say "Duhhh! I stutter better than you!" (Marcus, 13)

I don't care what people say to me, it doesn't hurt me. I don't get mad.(Javier, 12)

I would say, "Your point is???" (Ismail, 12)

If you get teased and you want to be more fluent you can use "scarf speech" by pretending than the words are flowing out of your mouth like a magician pulling out a scarf. Then you can tell the person "Big Deal. A lot of people stutter, including famous people like Darth Vader and Kenyon Martin." (Kayin, 10)

I just say, "Yeah, I stutter and that's ok with me." (Jesse, age 10)

I ignore them and try to walk away (Kenley, age 9)

If I get teased I would say "Your problem is much bigger than mine, buddy" (Matthew and Eliot, ages 9)

I am 22 years old, and was teased a lot when I was in school. I still have a stutter, and still once and a while come across an ignorant person who does not know I have a stutter, and will imitate my speech. I find the best thing to say to a person that does this is something sarcastic such as: "You're really cool, yes I stutter on my words, get over it".or laugh at their immitations and say something like "So what, I stutter on my words...at least I dont go around making fun of people"! Do not get embarrassed when you stutter! Its a part of who you are! There are many worse things in life...and once you accept it as a part of who you are., when bullies pick on you, it won't hurt as bad!

Some people mock me, make fun of me, or even tease me but I have learned just to shake it off. (Lauren, age 10)

When somebody teases me I just say 'so what' then I walk away and they never pick on me again because they have nobody to pick on anymore. (Eric age 9)

When somebody teases me I just walk away and say "how would you feel if you were me?" (Jacob, age 9)

I don't like it when I get teased, because I get mad and then I tease them back. Then they tease me back again, and then I tell my teacher. (Nathan age 10 )

When people make fun of my stuttering I say, "That's only one of the differences between you and me!" or I say, "Ya think?" or "Duhh." (Yakoub, age 10)

"I got used to be made fun of my whole entire life. I got used to people saying Stutterbox. That's why I made that my own nickname and my whole life my sister, my friends always made fun of me until I got to the third grade. That is an everyday thing for me to be made fun of and now these days ever since I got into the fifth grade, they have stopped making fun of me. The way I feel about people making fun of me is that each time they repeat the style I talk, I just say something back and if they start saying more stuff, I'll just walk away and if they're still saying stuff, I just pretend they're a ghost." - Alexis, age 11

"Sometimes when I am at my house my brothers and sisters always make fun of me and my stuttering and my speech. So the way I take care of it is to say just leave me alone or I just walk away from them. And if they're still there, I just go to my room and lock the door. If you get teased, you should probably just drop it and leave it alone or probably just walk away from them and forget about them." (Ruben, age 11)

What I do or say when I get teased about my speech: I tell the adult or I ignore them. I ignore them because they might stop. (Tre, age 10)

Whenever someone teases me about my speech, I just ignore them. It really worked wonders! J (Jonathan age 12)

One time I was talking to a girl and she said, "You s-s-s-s-stutter!" It made me so mad I thought I would cry. Don't ever let it put you down in the dumps. If someone teases me, I think why they've teased me was because they're trying to show their love to me! (Madelyn, Age 12)

Just say "Thanks!" Plus, don't worry, everyone stutters! (Abagail)

When I get teased, I say "Talk to the hand 'cause the face doesn't want to look at you." I leave them alone and they sometimes stop. Then I tell my principal and my mom and dad. My principal talks to me and the other kid. Then the kids stop teasing me. (Matt - 9 years old)

If somebody makes fun of me, I would say "I think I did a good job stuttering." Just because I stutter it doesn't mean you can call me names or make fun of me. (Alina, age 9 years, 11 months)

Whenever I get teased about my stuttering, I say "You can't do my skill, bud" or "Bug off Chilly". I can also say "Wow, I'm amazed". (Daniel, age 9).

Say, "I'm working on improving my speech, how are you doing with your problems?" (Chase, 12 years)

From Logan, age 10

If people mess with you about stuttering you should tell them to stop, tell an adult or just ignore the.

When someone bullies you, you might think, "Why are they bullying me?" Maybe there is something hard in their life and they are just taking it out on you. In your mind, blame the bully: that means, they act like you are doing something wrong because you stutter, but really, they are the ones doing something wrong because they are bullying. (Cordel, age 10 and RJ, age 12)

last updated January 3, 2013