Peterson worked with a speech pathologist named Sharon Milner at Georgia Southern and said he still considers her a close friend. Ultimately, however, accepting his stutter was the biggest accomplishment: "Being able to speak is good,” Peterson said. “If it takes me 15 minutes to do an interview or two minutes to do an interview, I get my point across without using any other special methods. That means a lot to me."
Now, Peterson spends his time helping others. In September 2012, Peterson published a book called Don't Dis My Abilities, where he discusses his struggles with stuttering and other hardships in his life. He also travels to schools and other events to talk to students who may be struggling with stuttering or other issues.
"You never know who is in the audience when you go to an elementary school and give a speech,” Peterson said. “You might have a straight-A student, but he or she might have a speech impediment. Instead of taking that extra step to be an excellent student, he or she might settle for being average because they're embarrassed."
Peterson never let his stuttering get in the way of achieving his goals, and his work speaking to other students who struggle with stuttering provides a much-needed source of inspiration and encouragement to the stuttering community. "If I can motivate someone to do what's right, that's great," Peterson said of his school speeches. "I enjoy doing these events. And I just try to do what's right. We're all human, so I wouldn't set myself apart. But I do hope I can help."
Since the release of his book, Peterson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and hosts youth football training camps that make the game more accessible to lower-income students and families. Additionally, he was hired by his alma mater, Georgia Southern University, as Director of Student-Athlete Development for the football program.
He’s continued to speak at schools and graduation ceremonies across the country. At Hesse K-8 School’s 2017 graduation, he spoke to a group of rising freshmen about the challenges he faced with his stutter, “My parents put me in speech therapy, and I felt embarrassed when I would get pulled out of class.”
He told the students to give their best effort in overcoming the challenges they will face in life because it is not an option to let embarrassment keep them from their dreams. Following one’s dreams and giving back were themes also reflected in his commencement address to Georgia Southern University in the fall of 2017. He told the students: “Go back to your communities, and help the young kids, because those are the ones who need it the most.”
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