Great idea Margie,
except to us , we ARE moving our lips, and
we are also smiling! Then someone comes
along and says, "You look so sad", and you
think, how in the world could I look sad when
I'm grinning from ear to ear. I have gone to a
mirror when someone has said that to me,
and sure enough, I'm not smiling at all.
But I have gone through all the motions of
smiling in my mind.  Put on a happy face,
and still end up with a blank stare!!!
Inside, I'd bet money, marbles and chalk
that I had a smile on my face.

I don't know about Dick, but my speech problems
start in the back of my throat, I start to say
something and it rattles around in back  as
if it might decide to become an asthma attack
instead of a sentence. Getting my voice to
project was a problem for me the last year
I worked.  I was lucky though, since I was
a librarian, everyone thought I was just
trying to set a good example of being
quiet in a library.

Practicing in front of a mirror sure can't hurt.
Thanks for the idea!!
just me,
Marjorie


At 06:51 PM 08/22/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>I know many PWP experience difficulty being heard and understood.  It has
>been one of Dick's complaints, too.  I always hear it spoken of in terms of
>voice volume, but no one ever mentions that PWP may not be enunciating
>clearly, besides.  If you think of the "facial mask" that accompanies PD, it
>would make sense that maybe the lips, and even the tongue and other vocal
>structures, aren't moving as freely or as much as in normal speech.
>
>  In other words, I suspect that if PWP would also think in terms of moving
>their lips more when they speak, they could be more easily understood.  It's
>certainly my observation that when I have the most difficulty understanding
>Dick, I can hear sounds, but can't distinguish words.  It's as if I'm hearing
>vowels and mumbling, with no clear consonants.  Just a thought, fwiw.  I
>don't know if it would help to try practicing speaking in front of a mirror,
>concentrating on the actual movements of producing speech.  Wouldn't hurt,
>anyway.
>
>
>Margie, cg for Dick, 55/18
>
><<   It sounds like you are experiencing what a lot of other PWP do with their
>  voice.  That is, diminution in volume, loudness, almost like
> hoarseness.  One
>  of the things about this situation, is that we have "re-set" our own
>  screening ability as to intelligibility - we think we're adequately
> loud; but
>  others say "What?and Hunhh?" frequently enough to know that this is a real
>  phenom. >>