Do you have speech problems? Many of us TBI’S have speech problems, while a speech therapist is the best option, one may not be available in your area. For the first 2 years of my TBI I didn’t have any brain injury services, but I didn’t give up…These are some things I did on my own to help my speech: At the mall I would practice talking to salespeople in stores…it was a way to engage in a short conversation, at the Library I signed up for any free classes for the opportunity to converse with others, at home I would read outloud and record my voice to get an idea of how I sounded,
I joined a group for people that were from other countries that were using the group to practice thier english ( I found this especially helpful as they didn’t really notice my word slurring and they spoke slow). The are many things you can try on your own to help yourself. Please feel free to add things you have done to help your speech. Do you have speech problems?
Yohami, sounds like your saying when your brain gets fatigued it gets hard to communicate well? If this is the case a positive to that is when you notice a change in your speech, immediately try to take a 5 or 10 minute silence break (I use the I gotta use the bathroom excuse for this). Also…while this may not be a speech problem…it is speech related, thus speech therapist can help with this. I say cause some insurance/medicaid won’t pay for cognitive rehab…but will pay for speech therapy (a speech therapist can do cognitive rehab). I am sorry this may be confusing, but getting the proper services is a complicated matter. Please feel free to ask me on this further. Thanks for sharing your challenge.
yup, I remember the slurred words when I would get excited and want to contribute to a conversation that I was listening in on. People would hear the ‘stutter ‘ and quickly write me off as being drunk or retarded, or some form of ‘mental lesser’ that they didn’t have to talk to. Yeah, I said to myself, I know I’ll get better. So I went on and made my way as best I knew how and here I am 42 years later
I do to a certain extent now, especially when explaining things to others.
Prior at the beginning I had to learn how to walk and talk again.
I like talking to others while out shopping.
I’ve always had speech problems… about 1/26th of my speech is dumb (can’t speak fluently). All my life, I couldn’t pronounce the letter “R” & people would do some very hurtful things to me. I don’t want anyone’s pity I just want you all to understand that I felt like a stupid idiot by these pranks. I believe I was in 8th grade when the incident occurred. I also went to what was supposed to be a Christian school. When I was in study hall, the boys “ganged up” on me & taped me to a chair. Then the boys all gave me mischievous grins. Next, it would help if you have seen Full Metal Jacket to fully understand the story. A character named Gomer Pyle was tied up to his bed during the night. In the morning the boys put things into socks & hit Gomer with the socks. I didn’t get hit with anything, but I was tied up the bed I was sleeping in during my time in boot camp. The reason I am sure of the intent of the guys’ prank is because they all teased me about my voice in their messages that they signed on the graduation picture. Anyway, sometimes I have a slight stutter, when speaking, because my brain gets stuck when I’m finding a certain word. Finally, I have had speech therapy to help me to pronounce “r’s” correctly, but I never learned the proper technique. Oh! I’m also Korean & I was born in South Korea. I was adopted when I was 3 or 4 & moved to the U.S. where I was given to a Dutch family.