By HOLLY LENNON

A GLASGOW school teacher is using his own experience to help children suffering from a stammer.

Adam Black, who struggled to speak as a child and teenager, overcame his disability to land his “dream job” in a special needs school in Glasgow.

He is speaking out to mark International Stammering Awareness Day which is taking place on Sunday.

The 28-year-old was presented with a British Citizen Award at the Palace of Westminster for his work to reduce to stigma attached to the disability, which affects one per cent of the adult population in the UK.

The neurological condition, also known as stuttering, is typically recognised by a tense struggle to get words out, often involving hesitations and repetitions.

Adam said: “Growing up with a stutter was tough and I struggled through school.

“I couldn’t say what I wanted to and in turn it meant I couldn’t be the person I wanted to be.

“It’s a funny thing to grow up being someone you know you’re not.

“The impact it had on me was one of loneliness, even with all my friends and family.

“As far as I was concerned, I was the only person I knew who wasn’t able to be the person they wanted to be and it was all down to stammering.”

After qualifying as a teacher in 2010, he taught at Carmunnock and Shawlands primary schools before taking up his current post at Eastmuir Primary School in Shettleston.

Although he is still living with the disability, the teacher said that it no longer impacts on how he lives his life.

He added: “I’m not cured and have experience to work hard to keep controlled eloquent speech.

“But I’ve certainly overcome all the negative connotations around my stammering.

“By actively accepting yourself as a stammerer and showing people that you are then you have some control over it and not the other way around.”

Mr Black said he uses physical techniques like breathing in a different manner and being assertive on certain sounds and words.

“My message to any young person who has a stammer is to accept yourself for who you are.

“Embrace your quirks.

“The sooner I did that the better I felt in every way.”

Adam, who was a leader in the 254th Giffnock South Boys Brigade for 10 years, said he has already dreamed of working with children with additional needs.

He added: “If I can make their life better by being a great teacher then I’m happy to be making a difference in this world.

“I hope my story of overcoming something which had such a negative impact on my early and teenage life will be of some inspiration to others.”