Brenda,
I also have problems with volume and being tongue tied and stumbling over
words and tripping over my tongue. Actually, I have a lifetime history of
talking faster than my tongue can go......and I am REALLY tongue tied,
too(the piece that attaches my tongue to the floor of my mouth is attached
nearly all the way to the end of my tongue). It is difficult for me to
keep a thermometer under my tongue or to move my tongue out of the way for
dental work or to lick an ice cream cone....I move the scoop, not my
tongue.
What works best for me to increase volume is to breathe deeply and push
from the diaphragm. Any vocal music teachers who have a better
description? If you place your hand on your diaphragm (lower abdomen) and
say PUH, PUH, PUH repeatedly your hand will move if you are using the
proper muscles.
To slow down and not trip over words, try enunciating (differs from
pronouncing) i.e. shape the lips and speak crisply and distinctly. This
takes concentration and practice but should help if you are stammering.
When my husb tells me to "Slow down. what's your hurry?", I find putting up
a mental image of a stop sign or a road sign with S-L-O-W School Zone is
helpful when I need to mentally shift to a slower gear and get my lips and
tongue working in sync. I am a public speaking teacher at a community
college and it will be interesting when I return to the classroom in
January after nearly two years to see if I can practice what I teach.
Jeanette Fuhr 49-age now/47-age diagnosed/44?age symptoms began
----------
From: Brenda Ambuehl <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Speech Pathology
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 10:13 PM
Mallory, I would really like to have some speech therapy...my doctor hasn't
recommended it, however, says Kaiser won't pay for it. (nation's largest
HMO
for whom I also work).
I've read about the Lee Silverman Technique but haven't tried it. If
anyone
can put me onto a good speech therapist in Portland OR, I'd be very
interested. My speech problems are speaking too softly mainly...but
sometimes
I also get a bit tongue tied.
Cheers,
Brenda
Mallory Dillon wrote:
> Hi. I am a graduate student in speech pathology at the University of
> Kentucky. I am writing a research paper about PD and its effects on the
> voice. I am trying to prove that speech intervention will improve the PD
> patient's voice in the areas of loudness, pitch and rate. Does anyone
know
> where I can find any research on this topic? Has anyone ever received
any
> speech therapy? Did it help? Was the Lee Silverman Technique used?
Have
> any of your doctors recommended speech therapy? Thank you for your time,
> Mallory Dillon
