How To Help Them

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Greg Wilson
gregwilsonpr@gmail.com
571-239-7474 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (July 29, 2026) — As families shop for backpacks and teachers prepare lesson plans, one group of students often heads into the school year carrying an invisible burden.

Approximately one in every 100 people stutter, and an estimated one in 20 children experience stuttering during early childhood. For these students, the first days of school can bring far more than excitement—they can bring anxiety about speaking in class, introducing themselves to new teachers, participating in discussions or simply ordering lunch in the cafeteria.

To help families, educators and school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) create supportive learning environments from day one, the Stuttering Foundation is offering a comprehensive collection of free back-to-school resources, including videos, classroom strategies, printable materials and expert guidance at StutteringHelp.org.

"Every school already has students who stutter," said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. "The question is whether the adults around them know how to respond in ways that build confidence rather than increase anxiety. A teacher's understanding during the first weeks of school can make an enormous difference in a child's experience throughout the year."

The Foundation encourages parents and educators to begin with its free "Help! My Child Is Stuttering" video, which explains what stuttering is, how adults can provide support and why patience, understanding and listening are among the most effective responses.

"Whether it's a new classroom, a new teacher or an entirely new school, those transitions can feel especially overwhelming for children who stutter," Fraser said. "Our goal is to ensure that every parent, teacher and school-based SLP has practical, evidence-based tools before those first-day introductions begin."

Supporting Students Beyond Speech

The Foundation's Back-to-School resources include:

  • Free guidance for classroom teachers on supporting students who stutter. 
  • Tips for parents on communicating with teachers and advocating for their children. 
  • List of famous people who stutter.
  • Summer reading recommendations featuring characters who stutter. 
  • FAQs for teachers.
  • Videos, downloadable brochures and practical classroom strategies—all available at no cost. 

For school-based SLPs, the Foundation also highlights practical, strengths-based approaches to therapy.

Rather than focusing only on moments when communication is difficult, clinicians are encouraged to help children recognize their own successes by asking questions such as:

  • What's better since last week? 
  • When did you speak up even though it felt difficult? 
  • What did you do today that you're proud of? 

These conversations help children recognize progress, build confidence and develop the self-belief needed to communicate more freely both inside and outside the classroom.

Helping Every Child Be Heard

While many children who stutter excel academically, some gradually stop volunteering answers, avoid classroom participation or become reluctant to speak in social situations—not because they lack ideas, but because they worry about how they will be received.

Creating supportive classrooms benefits not only students who stutter but entire school communities by fostering patience, empathy and inclusive communication.

For more than 75 years, the Stuttering Foundation has served as the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering, providing free resources to families, educators, healthcare professionals and people who stutter worldwide.

Parents, teachers, school-based SLPs and school administrators can access the Foundation's complete Back-to-School resource center, videos and downloadable materials free of charge at www.StutteringHelp.org.

About the Stuttering Foundation

Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who struggled with stuttering, established the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947 and endowed it throughout his lifetime. The Foundation provides free online resources at StutteringHelp.org for people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.