By Zi Yuan Wong on April 30th, 2025

For many people, engaging in conversations with someone who has a stutter can feel challenging, as they might perceive the interaction as awkward or difficult. As someone who stutters myself, I deeply understand the struggles of trying to connect with others while navigating this condition.

I’m not sure exactly when it started, but I began to notice moments where my thoughts and speech felt out of sync—like when the lyrics of a song didn’t align with the melody playing in my mind. Whenever I spoke, reaching the final word in a sentence became a struggle; my mouth would freeze, leaving me unable to complete my thoughts. I’d find myself with my jaw hanging open and my mind suddenly blank.

I began to notice this frustrating pattern where my words wouldn’t come out right, and something about it just felt…wrong. It seemed like my thoughts couldn’t keep pace with the speed of my speech. Watching others converse effortlessly, I couldn’t help but wonder why they could speak so naturally while I struggled—tripping over words, with some refusing to emerge entirely. To make matters worse, certain words would get stuck in my throat as I tried to pronounce them. They were clear in my mind, yet I found myself frozen, unable to push out even the first syllable.

Through a journey of self-reflection and frustration, I finally discovered the term that encapsulated what I was experiencing: stuttering. I can’t pinpoint when it started, but I remember it being a part of my life since middle school. Since then, I’ve tried countless strategies to improve my speech—whether it’s adopting long, deliberate pauses like President Obama or attempting breathing exercises from online articles. While these efforts have helped to some degree, any encounter with stress tends to unravel my progress, leaving me grappling with my familiar stuttering patterns once again.

“It wasn’t until I started reading about others living with their stutters that I had a realization: ‘Sure, I stutter—so what? I get along just fine despite it, and I’m still a (relatively) normal person.’ I mean, even Former President Biden had a stutter, and he managed to live a successful and fulfilling life well into his 80s. Honestly, on good days, my stutter barely even surfaces—especially when I’m talking to people I’m close with or communicating behind a screen. Maybe my stutter is more tied to the nerves I feel when speaking face-to-face with strangers?

Stuttering has certainly made conversations more challenging for people like me, but I’ve learned to navigate life just fine despite it. There are even days when it hardly bothers me at all. Over time, I’ve come to accept stuttering as a part of who I am—for better or worse. To anyone else living with a stutter, know that you are not alone in the journey of expressing yourself. Our voices, regardless of their cadence, are just as valid and meaningful. We are not defined or diminished by this condition.