A Lisbellaw man is raising awareness for children with stammers as he runs 100 kilometres throughout the month of March.

Robert Little (26) is running 100km to raise funds for the charity, Action for Stammering Children [ASC].

The UK based charity helps over 150,000 children and young people who stammer. ASC’s mission is to ensure that every child and young person across the UK who stammers has access to effective services and support to help them meet the challenges they face.

Robert is living with a stammer and wished to share his experience of the condition.

He said: “Having a mild stammer myself, I feel it is important to be open and transparent and share my own personal experiences. I have my good days and bad days but growing up for me was no different."

Some of the challenges Robert faced included: “Speaking in assembly, doing comprehensive reading as part of English lessons and speaking over the phone are just typical examples of situations that I found challenging on a daily basis.”

He expressed concern that a stammer can sometimes have an adverse effect on young people’s mental health as they may feel less confident than their peers.

Robert adapted and overcame his stammer by putting himself in uncomfortable positions.

He said:“For me, I found putting myself in uncomfortable situations such as public speaking, taking a lead role when doing presentations and booking appointments over the phone rather than online all help me to become more confident.

“These are all simple but effective techniques that I have found helped me and that other people with stammers could try to do as part of their development and journey.”

Robert’s stammer has impacted him from a young age but he has adapted to life with it. He said: “Growing up I was actually quite shy, I was confident around my friends in School, but when it came too things like speaking in assembly or if the teacher asked me to read out in English class, this was probably my worst nightmare.”

Advising others as to how to overcome their stammer, Robert said: “I think it’s important to stress that your stammer is never going to go away, however if you develop it by putting yourself in uncomfortable situations your confidence will grow.

"This doesn’t have to be doing presentations all the time or public speaking, this includes everyday things like speaking over the phone to arrange appointments or to order your takeaway at the weekend rather than doing it online or through apps.”

Despite having a stammer, Robert is soaring at his job as a Cloud Consultant for Deloitte, where he spends his days talking to his team and to clients. Further proof that having a stammer will not hold you back from pursuing a career.

Robert is well on his way to raising his goal of £500 for Action for Stammering Children. If you wish to donate to his fundraiser you can visit, https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/robert-little9 the money raised will help support children with stammers.