Speech issues

[SRUE]

My husband has finally been diagnosed with ILOA after almost 3 years fighting the GP for answers.His balance is a bit "off" when walking but the biggest issue for him is speech. His voice is weaker, speech sometimes a bit slurred and, at times, he struggles to find words.

Does anyone have any tips to help?

We're currently waiting for his follow up neurology appointment...with lots of questions obviously!

Any hints gratefully received as he is getting quite down about his speech issues now.

Thanks!

[wobblybee]

🤔 It’s highly likely the Neurologist will refer your husband to a Speech and Language Therapist. Speech problems are common no matter what type of ataxia is diagnosed. Slurring, stumbling over words and being unable to find the correct word is something I cope with myself.

When people have a lot of difficulty there is a service that offers a variety of options re ‘voice banking’

speakunique.co.uk/

[SRUE in reply to wobblybee]

Thank you!

[shepskii]

I am currently seeing a speech therapist. The first 6 sessions were reading words and she said to pronounce every syllable in each word to be understood easier. The last 8 sessions were the ‘LSVT loud’ course. This was aimed at raising my voice so that I didn’t mumble. It also involved using phrases and whole paragraphs. A few people have said that my speech has improved. I now have more confidence speaking.

[SRUE in reply to shepskii]

Thank you!

[Ginger1]

I rec'd speech and language therapy and the one thing that stood out for me was what they called the SLOP technique - ie Slow, Loud, Overarticulate , Pause. It's difficult to often think about how you're speaking but if you do pause + try these methods, it does help. I do try and speak louder to make myself understood. Keep smiling 😁

[SRUE in reply to Ginger1]

Thank you!

[wobblybee]

🙂 After reading this advice from Speech Therapists..I realise I need to concentrate more on my speech.

My husband has tinnitus..and he often doesn’t hear me because my voice tends to tail off before I’ve finished speaking.

[penelope2]

I find my speech is worse and tiredness caused by anything, even just listening to others and making short comments, stress and emotional upsets definitely make it worse. Physical exertion, concentration or just towards the end of the day.As I have mild bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus then now using a hearing aid which helps. Sounds are crisper including my own voice which helps me to be more confident when I talk as for me, without the aid a viscous circle develops as I mumble more then don't breathe properly and my voice sounds even worse.

Ataxia is really underestimated as to the symptoms so effecting our mental health and my hubby often asks and i try to explain the reality of it all. My thoughts are that only fellow ataxia sufferers really understand!

Good luck to your hubby.

[SRUE in reply to penelope2]

Thank you!