Speech: The way it feels to me is; there is a 12 lane high way in my head and everything I want to say is in this traffic jam trying to merge into the single lane that leads out of my mouth. I know I don’t speak as well as I write. The words are in there, but they come out of my fingers, not my mouth. I was telling the family how I’m tired of being so tongue tied and can’t verbally present myself as well as I would like. I can write expressively. I can write descriptively and persuasively. I can write pages upon pages of narrative in a short amount of time. But I just can’t talk as well I wish I did.
The idea of speech therapy came up. Has anyone else had speech therapy? I wonder what other options there would be.
Thank you.
Using speech therapy in schizophrenia is a new practice. There have only been a few studies evaluating it’s effectiveness within the last decade.
While there is very little research on this approach, the studies that HAVE been done show favorable results. But the effectiveness hinges on the Speech Language Pathologist’s (SLP) knowledge of communication disorders specifically related to schizophrenia.
Since you live in a major city, you might be able to find an SLP in your city who has experience treating people with schizophrenia-related communication disorders.
pedro27,
Thank you for that.
It’s all in there. My brain has the grammar, the vocabulary, the nuance of punctuation, the spelling. But verbally, I hardly say 10 sentences, unless I’m around people I feel comfortable with. Then I’m chatty.
Radmedtech
Thank you for that link. That looks very promising. It’s the end rhyme (clang association) that I slip into sometimes that really kills my verbal confidence. When I hear it come out of my mouth, I just want to run away.
I don’t know about speech therapy for schizophrenia. But when I was in grade school I had speech therapy from a student at the nearby college. I would walk to the college for my lesson. I like telling people I went to college when I was nine years old. I do get some looks when I tell that story.
With strangers i am not talkative, i am not confident in my that i will say smart things, but with friends i am very confident and talk more. But if i was forced to have a speech in front of ten strangers probably shyness and anxiety will cause me to faint.
Surprisedj did you ever find a speech therapist? If so how did you get the referral to them , find them, and what was it like and did you find it helpful?
I’ve been googling ways to help with the talking thing. And your post came up, gave me the idea for speech therapy. So much of nursing requires talking, this is really hindering me. I can read and write fine, it’s just the talking I freeze, brain won’t work, can’t find words. I’m okay with one person or small groups of people I’m really really familiar with, because I’m not afraid to repeat myself, slur, or struggle. So maybe just regular therapy will help.
I read the article Radmedtech posted and a few other more current ones. It’s really a shame that slp’s and doc’s aren’t recognizing a need for speech therapy for Sz and other mental illnesses.
But on the flip side Sz patients are probably very tough- noncompliance, stop treatment, don’t have means to pay/insurance won’t cover it. But they’d make a lot of money I’d bet if they did start treating Sz or MI.
I 'm the same way. So much of nursing is interacting and the Socratic method, you are on the spot at all times. Part of my problem, I know is intense fear of saying the wrong thing.
I think that it is good that things are improving, maybe the mainstream population starts thinking that schizophrenic people are not those reflected in some Hollywood movies.
Personally I write much better in English than I speak. I have not really spoken any English in the past 13 years, somebody mentioned long time ago that I speak ‘in sentences’.
I practice my own independent speech therapy. I rehearse talks, and that’s basically it. I will sometimes use ear plugs to hear my voice in a different dynamic. I have been practicing releasing small pockets of information that pop into my head of my own freedom of thought.