National Adoption Week!

One of our Trustees, Michael Wright, has written an article to mark National Adoption Week and to reflect on the profound effect having a stammer has had on his life.

Michael’s story is one of struggle, and although mostly about resilience, determination, empathy and kindness.

The Family Network are marking National Adoption Week by introducing the story of Michael Wright, a Planning Engineer within OMSI, who shares his journey of his adoption as a child, as well as living with a stammer, and how these experiences have shaped his life.

“Ever since I can remember, I have known I was adopted. Unlike so many, I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I always knew who my biological parents were, so I never felt the sense of “not belonging.”

I was first fostered at six weeks old by my Auntie and Uncle, (going forward, I will refer to them as mum and dad), and I had a wonderful childhood in a loving, supportive family environment. At the time, my parents had already adopted my elder sister and were fostering other children as well as me. About 13 months later, I was officially adopted within the family by my blood Auntie and Uncle. As I grew older, two more adopted siblings joined our family, bringing the total to four adopted children.

Although I knew the two people, I called Auntie and Uncle, were my biological parents, I often wondered why I had been put up for adoption. I finally received the answer when I was 12: On a weekend shopping trip, my mum gently explained that my biological mother had struggled to care for me as a baby. On one occasion, when I wouldn’t stop crying, she acted in a way that put my life in severe danger. I was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors managed to save me. Following this, it was decided by social services that it was unsafe for me to return home, and I was to be put up for adoption.

Adoption gave me safety, love, and opportunities I might never have had — but it also brought challenges. For a long time, I carried fears of rejection and abandonment, which sometimes led me to push people away, even those I cared about most. It was self-protection that often became self-sabotage. Recognising these patterns and learning to talk openly about my feelings has been transformative. It has allowed me to build healthier, more trusting relationships and be more present with the people around me.

I believe the trauma I experienced as a baby contributed to the stammer I’ve had since I first learned to speak. From ages three to sixteen, I experienced a severe overt stammer, including repeating sounds or words, facial contortions, head shakes, rapid eye movements, and full-body jerking. My authentic self often felt trapped in a body that couldn’t express what I truly wanted to say. I was mocked and ridiculed by the unkind and didn’t always receive the support I needed at school. I often questioned, why me? What have I done to deserve this?”

Adoption UK suggests that approximately 3,500 children are adopted in the UK annually.

The adoption process can take 6 to 12 months for straightforward cases, but the nature of adoption can often see this significantly extended. Adoptive parents undergo screening, training, assessment and matching stages, all of which pull both the primary carer and secondary carer away from the workplace. The idea of one carer being secondary to another affects both the family dynamic and the leave entitlements, so support for the family unit can be strenuous if not handled with the necessary discretion and compassion.

Stammering Awareness Day

Around 1% of the world's population stammers, that’s over 70 million people worldwide.

In the UK, it’s estimated that about 3% of adults have a stammer.

Between the ages of three and sixteen, I attended weekly NHS speech therapy sessions. These focused on relaxation techniques and strategies

to slow my speech, but they didn’t bring the progress I had hoped for. Adding to the challenge, I sadly lost my mum to breast cancer when I was nineteen. She had been my strongest supporter and biggest influence, and her passing left a huge void.

My life began to change when I joined Sellafield. Initially applying for an IT role, the interview panel looked beyond my stammer and recognised my 9 years of experience as a manufacturing planner. I was offered a role within Project Controls as an MPS Planner for Encaps, as well as being involved in lifetime plan builds. During this time, my line manager introduced me to the Starfish Project, a Costal Breathing program that gave participants tools and techniques to control their speech. Inspired, I enrolled in the program myself. Over the past 15 years, it has transformed the way I communicate and given me the confidence to be my authentic self.

Stammering affects more boys than girls. Ratios reported range from 3:1 to 5:1 in favour of boys.

In 2015/2016, I lost both my biological parents to terminal cancer and experienced the breakdown of a relationship, which led to a mental health crisis. This forced me to confront suppressed feelings about my adoption, the rejection I felt, the loss of my mum, and the bullying I endured due to my stammer. Talking through these challenges allowed me to gain a new perspective, and twelve months later, I emerged as a much happier and more self-accepting person.

In the UK, A 2021 survey found that almost half of adults who stammer said it negatively affected their career opportunities

In 2017, I co-founded the Sellafield Stammering Support Network. In 2021, during COVID, I co-founded Stand Up To Stammering, a Facebook support group supporting members globally who stammer. In 2024, I helped establish the charity Empowering Voices, which teaches people who stammer how to achieve fear-free speech using costal breathing techniques.

Both adoption and living with a stammer have shaped who I am today. While these experiences brought challenges, they also taught me resilience, empathy, and perseverance. Life can be difficult, but every experience carries a lesson and an opportunity for growth. Our past shapes us, but it doesn’t define us — it gives us the tools to grow, support others, and find the strength we might not have known we had.

The key takeaway? Even in the face of challenges, there is always something positive to take away, and every experience helps shape us into stronger, more compassionate people.