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Any other 'non speakers' out there, who could speak before, but now can't ?

17 replies

OnePlanOnHouzz · 02/06/2014 15:38

Hi ! My speech used to disappear for weeks at a time - over a 10 year period it would come and go - then in December 2010 it went... and it still hasn't come back ! Anyone else going through this too ?!

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OnePlanOnHouzz · 11/01/2015 14:57

I assume that's a no then !!!!! Lol !!Smile

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FannyFifer · 11/01/2015 15:10

Maybe no one heard you. Wink

Sorry you didn't get a reply, not being able to speak must be really difficult, is it your voicebox, is there nothing that can be done?

OnePlanOnHouzz · 16/01/2015 21:57

Hi FF ! Lol !!
No I should have typed in CAPITALS TO SHOUT maybe !!

It's a nuisance - but luckily I have changed most of my work to email based - as I'm self employed !
Still not really sure why it's gone - but I don't sleeptalk anymore either - so I don't think it's just a stress thing - voice box is all ok still as I can still laugh out loud ! Think it's some sort of loose connection - been on anti inflammatory's since August for something else - and I've started making a few more noises ! So hopefully it's coming back !! Fingers crossed !!

(Sorry for delayed answer - I'd forgotten to look on the 'I'm on' bit !! )

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senvet · 20/01/2015 01:10

Several relatives have something a bit like this. One has yes and no and can give you a scale of 1 to 10. And can sing all the words to Christmas carols. He carries a card saying that he can understand everything but cannot talk, and people then seem keen to help.

My other relative has trouble getting the subject word of a sentence, but it works quite well if there is someone with her who knows her quite well.

Disabled myself, I find there are always pluses and minuses. So I spent most of last year pretty much stuck in/on bed. Very good for email based work, and campaigns etc, but could not get out much. Excellent for reading books, and seeing overdue movies.
And also for making dd catch the bus to school etc.

Now I am improving and able to drive short distances again, I enjoyed getting to buy dd's birthday presents in the shops instead of online (all xmas was online) BUT now I have no excuse whatsoever for dodging the teenager-taxi runs, and 'please could you drop off...' requests.

There are always two sides to the coin.

And we are not called 'patients' for nothing

OnePlanOnHouzz · 20/01/2015 11:41

So good to hear you are up and about again - and fleshing to hear your positive take on things !! Good for you !!
I have an app on my phone which I can type on and it makes the worlds fill the screen - makes shopping /cafes/ dinner out easier - not come up with anything to make drive throughs possible though ! Unless there's a real person there to take your order ! Might help your relative too perhaps ?

Phone calls i don't bother answering unless it's family or close friends - and they just chat while I listen !

People often ask if I'm learning to sign - but when I answer - why can you understand sigh language - and they say no - the penny drops - that unless everyone else knows it - there is little point me learning it !

I do sign 'thank you ' when I'm served in shops etc though, as I don't want people thinking I'm totally ignorant, arrogant or rude when I don't say anything !!

The funniest thing is that lots of people assume I can't hear because I can't talk - some even think I'm stupid ?!
I have to laugh at the silliness of that - as otherwise it would be upsetting !!

So many of us take so much for granted - it's only when you loose something that you really appreciate what you had !

Hope you enjoy your trips out and about, with extra appreciation for all that time you couldn't !!! I'm so glad for you that you can now !!

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OnePlanOnHouzz · 20/01/2015 11:43

Fleshing ?! Lol !! Refreshing !!!!!

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senvet · 22/01/2015 00:41

I'm glad you have so much ingenuity!

I have a vision of you trying out different voices with a text-voice machine.

You could give everyone a shock by selecting 'Steven Hawkings', or 'Darth Vader'.

Actually, have you tried to get an OT to give you a text to voice machine?

They were giving them out on my MS ward when my legs first stopped working (don't worry, I don't want the old legs back - I would have to go back to work for a start). It was 15 years ago, so I expect that they have come a long way since then.

And blind people use text-voice the whole time - then you could have 2 way phone calls.

Does that help?

Your GP should be able to connect you with OT or a charity website like sense might be worth a look.

Sorry if you have already explored this route and found nothing to match what you need.

My other thought is all those people that I would love an excuse NOT to talk to like those annoying calls about ppi and trying to say that they can help you with your recent accident/computer crash etc etc. Alas I have to deal with them and you don't.
And all those times I say really embarrassing things - I heard about a chef who had an accident and was having his fingers sewn back 'we are just waiting to see now how much sensation he will get back'. I said, really, 'well, fingers crossed'.

With my 'yes/no' relative I realised that he still had all his body langugae and sense of humour. I do a lot od work with ASD and we see research that says non-verbal language is 60-80% of human communication. It was so clear with him, and quite reassuring - he could still make it clear that he loved to hear news of/from the kids, and all the things that he appreciated. I suppose it was just so clear that he still really loved and cared for everyone, and the rest somehow seemed much less important.

Take care

OnePlanOnHouzz · 22/01/2015 20:47

Someone else suggested a voice machine from OT - but when I looked into it - it's was quite bulky - and only really did what my iPhone can already do ... So didn't persue it ! At least with my phone I can text /email and large text for people to ready - even if it's noisy - sometimes you can't hear the speech app if it's a busy place !!

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senvet · 22/01/2015 23:39

Well they sound the same as they were 15 years ago then, but they probably got overtaken by smart phones.

If you want 2 way phone calls then I bet there is something they can put on your laptop/tablet whatever to speak what you type.

I'm guessing that you are pretty much on top of this stuff though.

Well, I have to say that change is usually tricky but I did find getting better was easier to manage than getting worse. Actually I had got so used to dealing with getting worse that at first I really wasn't equipped for getting better!

Someone said keep counting your blessings and, (reprimanding me for self pity) 'Most people on the planet would swap places with you for a certain income, certainty of food, and certainty of a roof over your head'.

Well that was me told! But I have done a fair bit for a street kids project in Kenya since, and met a chap there from the UK who had CP. He had very weak speech - his 10 year old daughter translated - and they had been doing awareness-raising in the area to show that people with disabilities and speech problems aren't stupid. Impressive bloke.

And there's you changing your work to email, and getting on with it.

Inspiring. Definitely inspiring

OnePlanOnHouzz · 24/01/2015 10:06

My husband jokes it keeps me in Prada handbags !!! I love my job - so couldn't bear to give it up !!!
Just pleased I could adapt it - but I do miss going on site and waxing lyrical about this wall can be moved and these can go here, build that in there, change the stairs etc etc etc . I do it occasionally - but it's not the same typing it - so now I try to have a sketch book with a floor plan drawn on before I even get there !

Keep positive !! Most things are surmountable !! That's my motto !!!

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senvet · 24/01/2015 17:13

Fantastic, one.
Keep moving those walls!

OnePlanOnHouzz · 26/01/2015 14:05
Smile
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OnePlanOnHouzz · 15/04/2015 17:40

Very happy to say - after four years and four months my speech has come back !!!!! SmileSmileSmileSmileSmile

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PausingFlatly · 15/04/2015 17:45

Weyhay!

SweetSorrow · 15/04/2015 18:05

Wow amazing! Did you have to work hard to get it back or could you just talk again suddenly? Did you ever find out what caused it?

Shapebandit · 15/04/2015 18:16

Oh my goodness! All of it back in one go? Or just a little bit for now?
Great news, you must be so pleased!

OnePlanOnHouzz · 18/04/2015 14:38

It started to re route itself - took about 2/3 weeks to get from an occasional whisper to full normal speech ! Its brilliant ! Used extra anti inflammatory's and it's still here despite me stopping the Extra pills now !

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