I stutter. When Sean Hannity blatantly teased stutterers on national TV, I was horrified. It tells millions of kids that their disabilities limit & define them.

Here’s what I do know: empathy, encouragement and activism are more powerful than teasing.

That's what kids need.

The worst time I've ever stuttered was in English class. The professor called on me to read out loud (one of the hardest things for a stutterer because you can't substitute words). I was nervous but also upset about being nervous—I didn’t want stuttering to stop me.

It was a 4 page essay! I couldn’t get a word out. Then the professor threw me a lifeline: "David, want someone else to take over?" Without thinking (or stuttering?!), I respond: "No, I think it'd be good if I try to finish." It took forever. I was sweating. I was embarrassed.

I vowed that day to work harder on my stuttering. But I don’t know how hopeful I’d be if I watched Hannity mocking one of my kind at such a young age. We need to teach kids that possibilities are limitless because that’s how they’ll achieve their dreams and make our world better.

Example 1: Throughout my childhood, every time my parents had friends over for dinner, they expected me and my brother—who also stutters— to sit next to them and join the conversation. Message received: stuttering isn’t going to stop you from being able to express your ideas.

Example 2: This girl in elementary school (I think her name was Barbara) came up to me and said, “I think you stutter because your brain works faster than your mouth.” Message I received: I don’t care that you stutter, I still think you’re smart.

Example 3: When I told my grandfather—a Holocaust survivor—that I was being teased in school, he gave me a hug and said, “so?” His message: this stutter is no big deal, and unless you’re in a death camp, life is pretty good.

Not everyone has been so kind to me, though. People laugh when I stutter. Biden once said, stuttering is the only disability people think it's ok to laugh about. People assume you can't or won't be good at certain things. And this is exactly what Hannity’s mockery was implying.

And you may not think it’s a big deal, but trust me, it is. We need to show kids that despite any disability, impediment, or challenge they face, possibilities are limitless. That’s the only way they’ll muster up the confidence to achieve their dreams & make our world better.

Why is ridicule of disabilities suddenly acceptable? It doesn’t matter which “side” you’re on. In politics and in general, personal attacks like this normalize bullying. Don’t teach people to be ashamed of a biological misfire they can't help. And definitely, don’t do it on TV.

Want to help? My brother and I set up http://supportstuttering.com . We're encouraging people who tease ( @seanhannity) stutterers and companies that enable them ( @StampsCom, @LibertyMutual, @bmsnews) to stop.