Worried about speaking in exams or giving presentations?

If you stammer, stuff like speaking in exams or giving presentations might feel pretty stressful. You might be worried about getting your point across, feeling tired, or running out of time.

The good news is – you don’t have to deal with it all on your own. If you're finding things tough because of your stammer, you can ask for something called reasonable adjustments. These are changes your school can make to help level the playing field a bit, so your stammer doesn’t get in the way.

Here are some examples of reasonable adjustments you could ask for:

• Extra time for speaking tasks

• Being allowed to take breaks

• Giving your presentation to a smaller group instead of a big class

• Doing a written version instead of (or as well as) speaking

• Typing your answers in a speaking assessment

If you think something like this would help, have a chat with your school’s SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator). If you’ve got a Speech and Language Therapist, it can be useful to get them involved too.

Most of the time, schools will try to help – but if things aren’t going smoothly or you’re not sure what to do next, there’s support out there. You don’t have to face it alone. Reach out to our Support Hub Advisor.