Eaglesham teacher encourages others to embrace their flaws

Adam Black, who teaches at a special needs school in Glasgow’s East End, first noticed his difficulty speaking at the age of eight.

Adam said: “I didn’t really notice that I had any difficulty until I was around eight-years-old. Growing up with a stutter was really tough and I struggled through school.

“Even though I knew the answers in class, I never spoke out. I couldn’t say what I wanted to.”

In 2007 Adam used the same life-changing McGuire Programme as Gareth Gates and Educating Yorkshire’s Musharaf Asgha.

“There isn’t a cure for stammering, so programmes like the McGuire help you overcome it and deal with it a bit better,” Adam explained.

“It taught me how to control my stutter and be happy with it. I learned breathing techniques to help manage it as best I could and help build my confidence. The most important thing is the psychology – you need to keep telling yourself you’re in control of it.”

Adam now as his dream job of teaching, and feels his experiences go a long way to helping the younsgters he teaches to accept themselves.

He continued: “I think there is a lot of pressure from TV for people to be perfect.

“For example, there was a girl at the school a few years ago who had bad eczema, and she was miserable because of it. I told her to just accept it as part of who she is. I’m proof that you don’t have to be perfect; young people need to accept their flaws as part of them and that it’s okay not to be perfect.”

Adam received the British Citizen Award last year for his work to reduce the stigma attached to the disability and recently featured on a BBC short video, discussing his stammer to help highlight the condition.

Adam added: “Everyone has their own quirks – you just need to embrace them the best you can.”

To view Adam’s video, visit www.bbc.co.uk/programmes.