Thursday, November 9, 2017

What to Do About Aphasia and Voice Difficulties

What To Do About Aphasia and Voice Dificulties 

Aphasia and Voice Difficulties while Speaking
Voice Difficulties Occur with Aphasia
while speaking.
 Aphasia often comes from a direct insult to the brain such as those who experience a stroke or
cerebrovascular accident. It is often common with head trauma from an accident or injury. It involves diminished ability to express oneself in speech and language or the ability to write. It also may affect the ability to understand spoken or written language

Aphasia and The Voice While Speaking


 The voice also ties into the speaking mechanism. It involves the vibration of the vocal cords. For the voice to properly function the vocal cords must adduct or come together and vibrate within a set frequency. If there is any weakness in the body such as paralysis or weakness on either side, it could affect either the vocal cord on that side of the body or both cords. When there is weakness on one side of the body it often affects most of the bodily structures on that side. If one of the vocal cords or the larynx is weak, or not getting a full  signal from the brain to the muscles in speaking, the result could be a lack of full range of motion such as those experienced with the tongue, lips, or vocal cords.  If there is a lack of closure in the cords the result is a hoarse or breathy voice. In some cases there can be an aphonia or lack of voice since the vocal cords are not closing completely when the person with aphasia or stroke attempts to speak.

 Swallowing and Voice Difficulties Can Occur with Aphasia


 There are cases where there has been a stroke or aphasia with little bodily weakness or paralysis. The person may look physically normal, however have difficulty expressing or understanding speech and langauge. What may be worse is a an additional voice or swalloing difficulty.

If the vocal cords do not move in the way intended it often means that either the voice box is not elevating or the vocal cords may not be completely closing. As stated this may cause hoarseness, raspiness or no voice at all.   When this occurs swallowing difficulties are common,

What to Do For Those Who Have Aphasia and Voice Difficulties While Speaking


1.  Often a competent Voice Therapist can address the speaking voice if there is a voice difficulty.
2.  Voice therapists are familiar with how the voice can be improved and the ways to get better movement or closure of the vocal cords.
3.  Always seek out an ENT (Otolaryngologist) doctor for a proper diagnosis as to why the vocal cords are not working properly.  Sometimes it can be caused by growths on the vocal cords or weakness from stroke and aphasia.
4.  In cases where there is a voice difficulty it is always prudent to consult with with a speech pathologist who has Voice Therapy experience and is certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association or the certifying association of the country you are in.  If you are not familiar with where to go, look up Speech Language Pathologists who specialize in the speaking voice.

People Who Have Aphasia and Voice Difficulties Often Don't Know What to Do or Where To Go

This article was inspired by a gentleman who had aphasia and voice problems while speaking.  When attempting to speak with stimulation, only a faint whisper was attempted.  He had not been talking for  many years and now, with voice therapy is able to produce a full voice with his wife who is being trained to facilitate speech and voice.  Prior to this, no one had ever addressed his inability to use the voice. (aphonia)

What To Do:  We Can Also Help You

For more information on aphasia and voice problems you may contact us by e mail through our website.   visit our website .



Monday, October 9, 2017

Voice Therapy for Voice Difficulties and Aphasia

Meeting Up With Friends Who Have Aphasia and Voice Difficulties


Some of Our Friends Who have Aphasia also have Voice Difficulties


Voice Therapy for Vocal Difficulties and Aphasia
Some with aphasia lose their
voice or have voice difficulties
Recently Malka and I visited with friends from our online Teaching of Talking Video Training Course.  They are from the UK.  It’s great to be able to meet with people who have been improving speaking through online mentoring.  Traveling across the pond to meet with people we have worked with from our motorhome in America is especially fun!

Using Voice Therapy Techniques to Help Overcome Aphasia and Aphonia

But the best of the visit was learning this gentleman who had only a whisper was able to produce a fairly normal voice once again when vocal therapy techniques were given.  His voice will need some strengthening work, but the sentence of being mute for life is now, no longer true.

There are Useful Techniques to Help Overcome Voice Difficulties 


The voice was accomplished with voice facilitation techniques  that were similar to those of a famous otolarngologist practitioner who emigrated to the United States in the late 1930's.  He had a special interest in the relationship between the functioning of the vocal cords in neurological and psychological speech pathology and deveoping speech therapies to remediate them.  His name was Dr. Emile Froeschels who was an Otolaryngologist with special interests in developing speech therapy methods for his patients.  We utilized similar methods to that of Dr. Froeschels; namely, hard glottal attack, modeling a voice at 90 dB range, and a highly pitched, modeled voice which caused an adduction or closure of the vocal cords following marked inhalation and forced respiratory exhalation with phonation.  Our therapy had been on a seawall in Brighton, England, where I had him "calling out to the sea birds!  He was not ashamed or fearful since I was doing what I wanted him to do, and therefore he did not feel all alone or "singled out."

The Need to Educate Carers, People with Aphasia, Doctors, and Therapists


The visit with my new friend with aphasia and aphonia (no voice) spurred two articles written about aphasia and voice difficulties, esp. aphasia and aphonia.   There is help for just about anyone who has difficulty with the speaking voice, especially those with aphasia.  Some people with aphasia lose their voice due to non-use for extended periods of time due to their giving up on speaking.  Others may have vocal cord weakness that can be improved using techniques which help the vocal cords come together to produce a better voice.  Either way a definitive recommended for anyone with a voice difficulty is to seek out both an ENT specialist and speech language pathologist/therapist with extensive training in the use of the speaking voice and aphasia.


****This gentleman's wife has now been receiving mentoring online through Zoom, and she has been taught how to facilitate vocal cord adduction.  We recently had a visit online approximately 4 weeks after we started stimulation.  She is now able to stimulate phrases with full voice, and to have a stimulated conversation.  He will need lots of daily talking and she is "learning" how to talk with him again after years of relative silence where no therapist had ever addressed the voice; What good was the years of speech therapy without a voice?

To find out more about the voice and voice therapy for those with voice difficulties annd/or aphasia contact a speech pathologist/therapist with specific expertise in both areas of aphasia and voice or feel free to contact me through our teachingoftalking.com website.


Monday, August 7, 2017

MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia Voice Therapy

Those with voice difficulties often need voice therapy for MTD muscle tension dysphonia. It is a
MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia Voice Therapy
common voice disorder. It is often caused by too much muscle tension and makes the voice sound abnormal.

Reported estimates that 10 percent of the population experiences a voice disorder at some point in time and as much as 40 percent of those cases may be experienced by teachers, preachers, professional voice users and speakers. Many will need voice therapy for MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia. Often it is caused by excess or lack of tension in the vocal cords.

Those who have MTD muscle tension dysphonia may also have emotional tension, which can follow episodes of colds, laryngitis and chronic fatigue.

What are the Symptoms of MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia


With MTD the voice may undergo a drastic change. One with MTD muscle tension dysphonia can experience pain when speaking, lose the abiltity to use the voice entirely, or develop hoarseness or gruffness. The voice pitch may go higher or lower.
MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia Other Names

It has also been referred to as a "functional dysphonia." That means the vocal cords are not working correctly. Often there are no growths or neurological problems. If there is excess tension in the vocal cords or voice box, it can cause pain when speaking or the voice may may become whispered.


MTD Muscle Tension Dysphonia is treatable by a knowledgeable voice therapist who has difinitive experience working with problems that affect the larynx or the voice box. He or she will provide the voice therapy MTD muscle tension dysphonia and work closely with Ear Nose and Throat Specialists.

What does a Voice Therapist Do to Treat Muscle Tension Dysphonia

To treat MTD muscle tension dysphonia with voice therapy, the therapist must closely observe how the individual is speaking and judge if there is too much/too little muscle tension. He must evaluate the pitch of the voice and its quality. Part of the assessment includes breath support, breathing, and efficiency. The individual's pitch range is also measured. Techniques are also used to "find" the normal speaking voice.

What You Should Do if You Suspect MTD


1. Seek out ENT Consultation to rule out vocal cord disease or growths on the cords.


2. If there is no disease or logical medical reason other than vocal tension, one should be seen by a speech language pathologist or voice therapist who specializes in the voice and voice therapy. He/she will determine what you are doing that may be contributing to the problem and develop a treatment plan to return your voice to normal.

Questions? Contact me: talkwithmark1@gmail.com and we can help you get your voice back to the way it should sound. Or click here: 1 on 1 with a Speech-Voice Therapist to get help for your voice now.



Sunday, July 30, 2017

Vocal Fry Voice Therapist Mark Ittleman Can Help You

The Case for Weaning Oneself of Vocal Fry
by
Mark A. Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP
Vocal Fry Speech Therapist

Vocal Fry Speech Therapist
Vocal Fry Speech Therapist
Ok so some may think Glottal Fry is cool, and why for years did most men have it and no one noticed? And why are women intentionally using it now to promote Vocal Affect? Although this term has been used in the literature for many distinct reasons, the way I refer to it from a speech therapist’s point of view is that vocal fry for many is a way to sound cool, or to give one’s speech a distinct personality, like the car we drive or the clothes we wear. The way we speak can help identify us immediately to others since we all have vocal characteristics. The more that our speaking style or affect is different, the easier it is for others to identify us.

My concern with vocal fry relates to the abuse to the vocal cords that it may likely cause. Any time there is hoarseness or glottal fry, the vocal cords are being used in a dysfunctional manner.


Does that pay off for the particular speaker? Not as far as the health of the larynx or voice box is concerned. For over 30 years of working hand in hand with Otolaryngologists (Ear Nose and Throat Specialists) I was the one they sent patients to after vocal cord stripping were performed or excision of vocal polyps or nodules.

Vocal Fry Speech Therapist


Have you ever developed a callous on any one of your fingers from doing yard work, or any task with your hands they were not accustomed to? People who take up golf, tennis, or the weekend gardener surely develops the irritated area on a thumb or finger. And should that activity continue on a regular basis, a callous or a hardened surface soon replaces the irritated area. With time it becomes encrusted on the inside surfaces of the vocal cords, and the speaking voice becomes habitually hoarse or discordant.

There is always a price to pay for abusing any portion of the body. Glottal Fry is one of them. Are there healthier ways to develop Vocal or Speaking Affect? Assuredly!

Let me show you how.

Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP is a Vocal Fry Speech Therapist who has been helping people speak with clarity for over 40 years. He has spent years in direct one on one speech therapy with those with brain injury, aphasia and children who have not developed speech and language normally. He has worked in nationally renowned rehabilitation hospitals and has developed specialized programs for those who lost their speech due to vocal fry. Those programs involve training family members, caregivers and speech language pathologists who are looking for new and vibrant approaches to help others improve speaking.


Vocal Fry Speech Therapist Mark Ittleman Can Help You


The Case for Weaning Oneself of Vocal Fry
by
Mark A. Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP

Vocal Fry Speech Therapist
Vocal Fry Speech Therapist
Vocal Fry Speech Therapist

Ok so some may think Glottal Fry is cool, and why for years did most men have it and no one noticed? And why are women intentionally using it now to promote Vocal Affect? Although this term

My concern with vocal fry relates to the abuse to the vocal cords that it may likely cause. Any time there is hoarseness or glottal fry, the vocal cords are being used in a dysfunctional manner.

Does that pay off for the particular speaker? Not as far as the health of the larynx or voice box is concerned. For over 30 years of working hand in hand with Otolaryngologists (Ear Nose and Throat Specialists) I was the one they sent patients to after vocal cord stripping were performed or excision of vocal polyps or nodules.
has been used in the literature for many distinct reasons, the way I refer to it from a speech therapist’s point of view is that vocal fry for many is a way to sound cool, or to give one’s speech a distinct personality, like the car we drive or the clothes we wear. The way we speak can help identify us immediately to others since we all have vocal characteristics. The more that our speaking style or affect is different, the easier it is for others to identify us.


Vocal Fry Speech Therapist Mark Ittleman


Have you ever developed a callous on any one of your fingers from doing yard work, or any task with your hands they were not accustomed to? People who take up golf, tennis, or the weekend gardener surely develops the irritated area on a thumb or finger. And should that activity continue on a regular basis, a callous or a hardened surface soon replaces the irritated area. With time it becomes encrusted on the inside surfaces of the vocal cords, and the speaking voice becomes habitually hoarse or discordant.

There is always a price to pay for abusing any portion of the body. Glottal Fry is one of them. Are there healthier ways to develop Vocal or Speaking Affect? Assuredly!

Let me show you how Vocal Fry Speech Therapy can help you..


Mark A. Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP
Vocal Fry Speech Therapist