"I never had professional therapy, but a couple of nuns taught me to put a cadence to my speaking, and that's why I spent so much time reading poetry – Emerson and Yeats,” Biden wrote. “But even in my small, boys' prep school, I got nailed in Latin class with the nickname Joe Impedimenta. You get so desperate, you're so embarrassed.”

President Biden is an inspiration to those who stutter, proving that struggling with stuttering does not have to hinder your personal success.

At a 25th anniversary gala for The Lab School of Washington, Biden told the audience, “God’s gift to me was my stuttering,” he said. But he also warned, “Don’t let your learning disability define you.”

As a child, President Biden worked on relieving his stuttering by reciting poetry in front of the mirror while monitoring his facial reactions. Overcoming the disability and the outcast status it gave him made him that much stronger and more empathetic later in life, he noted.

“Time and time again, my parents taught me that being different is no barrier to success,” Biden said. “And the measure of a man isn’t how often he is knocked down but how quickly he gets up.”

In May 2015, President Biden sent a letter to the Stuttering Foundation of America in celebration of the Foundation’s annual Lotos Club Gala. He offered up some valuable advice to those struggling with stuttering:

“If I could share one piece of advice with all of those struggling with a stutter, it would be this: When you commit yourself to a goal and when you persevere in the face of struggle, you will discover new strengths and skills to help you overcome not only this challenge, but future life challenges as well. I promise you – you have nothing to be ashamed of, and you have every reason to be proud.”