with Attorney Todd Whatley

Todd Whatley is an attorney in Northwest Arkansas who specializes in helping the elderly. He is on the board of directors for the National Elder Law Foundation. Before becoming an attorney, Todd was a physical therapist, which he believes was the perfect initial career for anyone wishing to help the elderly because it gave him great “people skills.” Todd began stuttering at a very young age and has worked to manage his speech although he says he still struggles all the time:
 
Q: Do you remember when you first began to stutter? 
A: I remember as a very young child having difficulty getting words to come out. I would want to say something and the words would just hang there. My dad would try to encourage me to say it and he would get quite aggressive in his forcing me to say stuff. That made it worse. My friends later on in school would say really rude things like “can’t you get it out?”  “Come on Todd, just say it.” Or worst of all, they would mock me. I had very low self-esteem and I think that made my stuttering worse. Once I got older and somewhat accomplished in my career, my stuttering got much better. However, that was in my twenties. I struggled with stuttering significantly until my 20’s.
 
Q: Does it run in your family? Who else stutters?  
A: No. To my knowledge, I was the only one who did this. Neither of my children stutter.
 
Q: Did you seek treatment? Did it help?  
A: My mom and my teachers got me into speech therapy at the school. Mrs. Holland. She was awesome!  She worked with me during school hours, which was a problem because I was very embarrassed by my stuttering and now I had to miss classes, or recess or whatever to go to speech therapy. People would ask why I was gone and I was very embarrassed to say. However, Mrs. Holland did a great job. She helped me with slowing down my speech pattern. We sang books that I read. I thought that was stupid until I could read a whole page and not stutter. I was amazed. I use that technique to this day. 
 
Q: Tell us about your experience with stuttering as a child. 
A: It was terrible! Kids and even adults made fun of me. They would mock me and think I was stupid because I could not talk “right.” I shut down socially to some extent. I was a nervous kid afraid someone would ask me a question or make me answer in class. However, the absolute paralyzing fear of doing a presentation in front of class still haunts me to this day but when I do a speech to hundreds of professionals, I take that experience and use it to my advantage. 
 
Q: Has your stuttering gotten worse or better since you were younger? How?  
A: Much better. People now do not even know that I stutter until I start talking about it. My stuttering was more of a pause than the repetition of sounds. I did the repetition of sounds plenty but most of the time I would simply freeze and nothing would come out. People who don't know me very well only see the pause. 
 
Q: How did it affect you growing up?   
A: Lots of anxiety and very low self-esteem. I remember thinking pretty much all the time, “Why can’t I talk like them?  The words just come out of their mouth so easy.” I was jealous. I wanted to be like them and since I wasn't, I was inferior. 
 
Q: How does stuttering affect you as an attorney?  
A: It mostly doesn't. I do presentations, I appear in court. Now, when I meet someone who stutters, it is a disaster!  I had an adult client one time that stuttered. We had a very hard time communicating. I do great with my speech until I start talking about stuttering or I try to talk to someone who stutters.
 
Q: How is your stuttering today? What do you do to control or manage it, if anything?  
A: It is fantastic. I still struggle with it all the time. However, I use what Mrs. Holland, and my new Speech Therapist, Mary Ann Southern taught me. When I get stuck, I stop, relax my throat and the word comes out. If it doesn't then, I switch to a different word with a different beginning sound. I have always had trouble with “h” words. Why it sticks, I have no idea. 
 
Q: What are the biggest challenges stuttering has presented to you?  
A: It’s there in my mind and in my throat all the time. Even though few people see it, it is there. It's a mind thing now. I have it under control but please understand, it is still there ALL the time. Sadly to say, you never get over it, or at least, I haven’t.
 
Q: What is your greatest accomplishment with regard to stuttering?  
A: That I have it under control. I have been very successful despite that being there. 
 
Q: Based upon your experiences, what would you like to tell children who stutter?  
A: Go to therapy. Do what the therapist says. Practice. I hope theirs gets better with age and self-confidence like mine did.
 
Q: Based upon your experiences, what would you tell parents of children who stutter? 
A: Go to therapy with your kids. Do what the therapist says. Please don't pressure your child when they are struggling. Be there for them. They need someone in their corner who lets them know they are loved and they are awesome even though they have difficulty getting words to come out.
 
Q: Anything else to add? A story, vivid memory, something someone told or taught you about stuttering?    
A: One of my, my mom’s, and (I hope) Mrs. Holland’s proudest moments was when I was an attorney and I gave a presentation in my home town to a fairly large group. It was one of my earliest speeches as an attorney. My mom and Mrs. Holland were there. I did the speech and my mom, with tears in her eyes, sat there and heard me do it with very little difficulty. That was a real pivotal point in both of our lives. Having Mrs. Holland there too was icing on the cake.
 
Do you know someone we should interview for a future newsletter? Please e-mail us at info@stutteringhelp.org.
 
From the Fall 2015 Newsletter