Speech Problems

Hi all. I've never really posted in here before, but I do have a problem I need some help and advice with.

I've always had difficulty in speech and being able to communicate. When I was a child I had a bad stutter and needed to see a speech therapist once a week. I stopped receiving sessions because they reckoned I was okay.

However all throughout my teenage years I've had problems in talking. Not so much a stutter anymore, I only occasionally get that, but for the most part my problem seems to be slurring words (when I'm sober that is), talking too quietly, swallowing difficulties, stumbling over words and in general people find it difficult to understand me.

One problem I also keep getting lately is not remembering even the simplest of words that I'm trying to say. For example, I was once trying to say to a friend "There's a light over there", but for the life of me I couldn't even remember the word "light". When I eventually did remember it, it felt near impossible to actually say it.

I'm just getting increasingly frustrated with myself these days, and my problems are getting worse. At my worst, especially lately, I can barely manage to mumble more than a few words at a time, either because I can't remember them, or because the words won't come out. It's becoming a real effort to try and be coherent, and just speaking normally seems to be a real strain.

This is really holding me back now, because a lot of people can barely understand me anymore, and I feel the only way I can communicate is by writing.

Is there anybody else have any problems like this, or suggestions what to do? I'm starting to think I need to take this up with a doctor now. Are there any classes out there that can help me? I'm really worried about the forgetting my words bit, because I remember somebody once saying to me that it might be a form of dyslexia. Can anyone confirm?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

My sister has the same speech background as you, and has some of the same problems now in high school. She says what helps her is to think of what she is going to say first, then say it. Just go over it in your head first.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You sound pretty similar to some of the stuff I've had to deal with. During high school I started stuttering more often and gradually found it difficult to speak above a mumble sometimes. Forgetting words like that isn't that uncommon for anyone, though it sounds like it's happening a bit too often for you.

The best advice I can give you to help with the stuttering and the mumbling is to talk to yourself. I know it sounds silly, but the more you speak the better you'll get in normal situations. For instance, when you're driving alone in your car speak outloud instead of thinking everything. Whenever you stutter, force yourself to stop and repeat the whole thing until you can get it right.

It's possible that you've started mumbling unconsciously out of embarassment because you know how much you stutter. Similarly, practice shouting or just talking much louder than you think is normal. You'll feel completely ridiculous, but overcoming that can go a long way towards stopping your mumbling.

Forgetting words on a regular basis can come from any number of causes, so don't jump to dyslexia. Most of my problem came from a bit of social anxiety that suddenly set in, which is odd since I'm a fairly outgoing person. You could just be nervous because you're focusing so much on your speech already, and then you become easily frustrated when one more problem enters the mix. If the problem persists after you're doing better then you could consider casually asking a doctor about it. I'm willing to bet that it'll fix itself though.

I hope some of this will help, though I see you haven't signed in since you created this thread a few days ago.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Yeah, I've been away from home for the past few days so I haven't been able to sign in and read these replies.

Thank you very much for your help both of you. I'll give it a try, see if it works. I guess it's mainly a case of practice at the moment and staying calm.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?