The world needs to learn to listen

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Stephanie

Stephanie Galbraith tells us about her son's journey with stammering and how she refuses to accept discrimination from his school.

My son Scott is 14 now and has stammered since he was two. He attended speech & language for several years and during that time developed real confidence in managing his stammer. There were always tricky periods, like birthdays, holidays and Christmas — times when excitement or a break in routine would lead to his stammer becoming more noticeable. But overall, he coped incredibly well.

Then came COVID. With all the upheaval and uncertainty the pandemic brought with it, there was a huge shift. Scott seemed to really start struggling and we went back to speech & language therapy for a year. With support and determination, Scott managed to take control.

More than anything, I want Scott to know that he never has to accept this kind of ignorance.

But then starting high school brought a different kind of challenge. It has been a three-year journey marked by bullying — firstly from peers and, shockingly, later from adults, including teachers, who made Scott feel inadequate and even rude because of his stammer. He was told to "communicate better", as if he simply wasn't trying. The most devastating moment was when a referee sent him off during a football match because he couldn't say his own name quickly enough.

So far, I have made four formal complaints to Scott's school as the teachers in question refused to apologise, which is all we were looking for. Two of these complaints were fully upheld and two were partially upheld, as the school said that ill intent couldn't be proven. 

Ignorance

The ignorance surrounding stammering is quite staggering to say the least, especially from adults and professionals. The responses I have had from Scott's school have not been great, to be honest. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, knowing that some people are not willing to learn from their ignorance.

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I have fought, pushed, complained and refused to stay silent in the face of this discrimination. Yet it still feels like we have a long way to go.