As scientists study the brains waves of people who stutter, and doctors test medications to see if they help, people with the condition and their families must learn to survive and thrive in a world that often doesn't understand.

But a national conference here in New Orleans is helping. It's a place where people who stutter can share their personal stories.

People who stutter can live in a tough world. Imagine getting in big trouble at school from your teacher when it's your turn to give an oral book report. That's what happened to 16-year old Ashlee Walsh of New York.

"In like 5 minutes I only said like three words so and she thought that I was like mocking her so she kicked me out," she said. 

And even after explaining your condition, still no acceptance. So you grow up fast.

"There's always going to be people like that and you can't let them destroy you," says Walsh. 

So stuttering can make you grow up feeling alone. But this national group of young people who stutter called Friends is meeting in New Orleans to help entire families.

"It's basically a way to feel connected to like everybody who is around you. I thought I was alone in the world before," says 12-year-old Linnea Schurig of California.

Twenty-two-year-old Val Ostergaard of Illinois is studying to be a speech pathologist so she can one day help people who stutter like she does. "I never met someone who stuttered before I came here, so you just know you want to make sure that they know they are not alone," she says. 

The children and young adults also come to the conference to share stories.

"I got teased a lot. I basically had no friends. I cried myself to sleep every single night, but basically in high school my junior year I met my friend Dillan, my best friend to this day, who finally accepted me for who I was," says Dan Murphy a 21-year-old college student from Chicago.  

People who stutter also come here to learn that they can be anything they want to be, while parents come to learn to shed guilt or embarrassment. They did not cause the neurological condition in their children.

"Once children get a little older into their teen years and into adult hood, I think that the message is probably “let's learn to cope with this.’  That your life will be just fine because you stutter and to have that inner understanding and inner peace," says Speech Pathologist and Fluency Disorder Specialist Dr. John Tetnowski of the University of Louisiana in Lafayette.

Even though they are born without natural fluency, their IQs are normal, their dreams are normal, and so are their hearts.

"Just treat us like everybody else because we are probably one of the most caring people," says college student 21-year-old Ryan McDermott of Ohio.

The conference runs through Saturday night at the embassy suites hotel downtown.