I feel like my speech is getting worse.

[AngelaS267]

Hey guys. So Ive been noticing that my speech hasn't improved much since I tried to work on it 4 years ago. As a person with aspergers, I was the child that didn't speak much at all. So much so to the point where people would come back to me later and life and say they were concerned with how little I spoke. If you'd asked me back then, I wouldn't have noticed at all. I thought I spoke enough. I developed a lisp in the 3rd or 4th grade. My mom was convinced that it was because I was trying to be cute to get attention from my dad. That used to irritate me because it wasn't true. I didn't notice I had a lisp until a boy pointed it out to me in art class during high school. He said, "****, do you have a lisp?" I then evaluated myself and found that I did have one. It was mild, but you could definitely hear it. I first had to learn the proper S sound. After I figured it out, it was a matter of remembering to use the correct S. After I started using the right S, I developed a stutter in college. Trying to be mindful of the S sound while speaking at a normal pace felt like a lot. From then on, I noticed I struggled with my speech and it hasn't gotten better. The S is fixed, but now I stutter when I don't get to think about what I say, and I feel like I'm playing charades trying to get people to understand what I'm saying. I speak extremely low and I kind of don't complete sentenced because I hope that the other person will fill in the blanks of what I'm trying to say. It's very frustrating and I wanted to know if anyone else struggled with this as well. Is there a good online resource for speech therapy? Share your stories if you wish, I'd love to hear them

 

[menander]

Does it bother you? If it only bothers people around you, maybe you should not change your entire way of speaking. You were made differently, not wrong.

 

[AngelaS267]

Does it bother you? If it only bothers people around you, maybe you should not change your entire way of speaking. You were made differently, not wrong.

Yea, it bothers me because it makes it hard for people to understand me. I don't mind my voice, but I have an odd speech pattern that makes me very hard to understand, and so I don't speak a lot to avoid the confusion. I would really like to speak more clearly.

 

[unperson]

I spoke so little in childhood, I don't have clear R and L diction, sorta like how Asians do. I did some speech therapy at about 40, which helped with general clarity, but the R L thing is still sub par. Had neglect stuff from family hence speech issues.

Just open your mouth more when you speak and practice by reading aloud, was the basic advice I got, its gonna vary with different speech styles. If you can afford a therapist, it can be helpful. I didn't need a lot of appointments.

 

[menander]

Yea, it bothers me because it makes it hard for people to understand me. I don't mind my voice, but I have an odd speech pattern that makes me very hard to understand, and so I don't speak a lot to avoid the confusion. I would really like to speak more clearly.

I can see that. I did not mean to sound insensitive. I don't do a lot of communication so it must be hard if you are trying and people are giving you negative feedback, even if they are not directly saying it.

 

[Pats]

I have a cousin that has a lisp and I love hearing him talk. It reminds me how sweet he is.
Also had a friend who always sang off key but I loved hearing her sing because she enjoyed singing whether she was talented or not.
I was 7 when I was taken to speech therapy and learned to talk - took me a long time to get my r's. Some words I still struggle with - can not say oil at all. And I get tongue tied sometimes.
I don't think you should try to change your speech - it's part of what makes you you and unique.

 

[Ezra]

I understand what you mean OP. I've had a lot of speech therapy and still do not speak very well and do the pseudo sign language charades type thing. Only my family knows how to understand me clearly. A lot of the time I communicate through texting. But I still practice talking when by myself. Keep chiseling away at it.

 

[Vanilla]

Hopefully some of these help - just a few speech exercises and some Dr. Seuss (there are many other books). Working on them daily on a long term basis should help your brain to rewire itself, allowing you to improve your speech.

 

[Wolfgangus Faldestolius]

Am going to check those videos out!

Angela, I identify with what you say. Both in speaking and writing, I allude - fragmentarily. (Even when ostensibly grammatically fastidious.) I've also been though years of scarcely being able to spit out a thing.

I've had flak for speaking slowly but I just say people have to accept how I am on any particular time. My family had a serial history of moving between regions and not knowing grandparents, and both those affect accent as well.

Those of my generation may remember an English commentator who moved to the US, Alistair Cook, he was on the radio every week. Because he took time and put thought into it, he could make anything interesting. I remember Cook stretching a subject out in front of my short-term memory clearer than if it had been in large print - tabulated - before my eyes. After my SpLDs diagnosis, I suddenly remembered his way of speaking. I could see a grammatical point in the sentence a few words before it came, which would be a good point to pause for breath, so as to bolster emphasis & comprehension.

This has taken a lifetime but I like to kid myself I'm thought a stylish speaker rather than an incoherent one. At the same time, I am more satisfied at staying out of a conversation than I sometimes had been.

Learning foreign languages, and reading out with intonation according to comprehension, was also an accomplishment.

A coach reminded me of the role of taking time to breathe, and relaxing my neck and shoulders (eases brain circulation).

Not least, I love words, one way and another. Give time time, you're streets ahead of where I was at "your age"