LSVT SPEECH PROGRAM

THIS IS A SUPER OLD VIDEO–JAN. 2012, I THINK? IT WAS TAKEN TO HELP ME PRACTICE THE LEE SILVERMAN VOICE TREATMENT (LSVT):
• IN SECTION 1, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES.
• IN SECTION 2, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN AN ASCENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 3, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN A DECENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 4, I SAID 10 FUNCTIONAL PHRASES
• IN SECTION 5, I SAID 10 WORDS/SHORT PHRASES FROM A LIST–SOME WORDS ARE “YES,” “NO,” HELP,” “THANK YOU,” “YOU’RE WELCOME,” “WHAT,” “OK,”HELLO,” “HOW ARE YOU,” I’M FINE”

HOPEFULLY, IT CAN HELP OTHERS TOO! THIS IS NOW MUCH EASIER 4 ME, & I CAN HOLD CONVERSATIONS! (THOUGH THERE IS STILL VALUE 4 ME BY PRACTICING–I STOPPED, & MY VOICE GOT QUIETER!)

Do you know of any exercises to help with getting more breath?

I’M GLAD U ASKED WHAT I DO 4 BREATH EXERCISES. NON-MUSIC STUFF:
1. I DO “CANDLE THERAPY”, & BLOW OUT A CANDLE 30 TIMES IN LESS THAN 5 MIN…& I INCREASE THE AMOUNT, & DECREASE THE TIME. I TRIED BLOWING BUBBLES, BUT I AM NOT STRONG ENOUGH YET, & IT IS MESSY!
2. I HAVE A SPIROMETER FROM MY OLD SPEECH THERAPIST–IT MEASURES YOUR BREATH, & I TRY 2 GET IT UP TO SOMETHING LIKE 2600.
3. LEE SILVERMAN VOICE TREATMENT (LSVT). THE PROGRAM I WAS DOING (LSCV), CAN BE DIVIDED INTO 5 SECTIONS:
• IN SECTION 1, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES.
• IN SECTION 2, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN AN ASCENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 3, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN A DECENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 4, I SAID 10 FUNCTIONAL PHRASES
• IN SECTION 5, I SAID 10 WORDS/SHORT PHRASES FROM A LIST–SOME WORDS ARE “YES,” “NO,” HELP,” “THANK YOU,” “YOU’RE WELCOME,” “WHAT,” “OK,”HELLO,” “HOW ARE YOU,” I’M FINE”
I WILL TRY TO POST ON MY BLOG THE VIDEO OF ME DOING MOST OF LSVT W/MY OLD SPEECH THERAPIIST…

I ALSO USE A METRONOME A LOT. I BREATH BETWEEN 40-56 NORMALLY, SO I FIND RELAXING MUSIC IN THAT SLOW RHYTHYM, & TRY TO INHALE & EXHALE FOR 2 COUNTS–USUALLY, I INHALE FOR 1 COUNT, TRY TO HOLD 1 COUNT, & TRY TO EXHALE 2 COUNTS (I OFTEN EXHALE 1 1/2 COUNTS!) THIS EXERCISE ALSO CALMS MY PBA, WITH OR W/O MUSIC!

BUT OONE OF MY MOST BENEFICIAL YET: I SET THE METRONOME BETWEEN 52-54 BEATS (FOR ME), &7 EVERY 3RD BEAT, I INHALE, & EVERY 4TH BEAT I BLOW ON A RECORDER OR WHISTLE. IT GETS TRICKY SOMETIMES, BUT THE BLOW OFTEN STARTS AS A QUIET SOUND, & GETS LOUDER. MY NEW GOAL IS TO HOLD OUT THAT SOUND…

I ALSO DO MANY COMPENSATORY STRATEGIES TO MAKE MY SPEECH CLEARER I SLOW MY SPEECH & EMPHASIZE THE SYLLABLES WHEN MY WORDS ARE NOT RECOGNIZED, A FRIEND OF MINE WILL ASK ME 2 USE MY SIGN LANGUAGE 2 SIGN HER THE 1ST LETTER OF THE WORD, IF SHE DOESN’T GET THE WORD, & I DO A LOT OF GESTURES/VISUALS–PEOPLE CAN ALMOST GUESS A SENTENCE BY IT–4 EX., I ASKED MY “HELPER” 2 PUT THE SILVER THUMBDRIVE IN MY COMPUTER, POINTING AT THE THUMBDRIVES, THEN POINTING AT THE COMPUTER, & WHEN I SAID THE SENTENCE AGAIN, EACH WORD HAD IT’S OWN BREATH, & ONCE I GOT TO THE WORD “SILVER,” SHE PRETTY MUCH FIGURED IT OUT FROM MY GESTURES.

INTRODUCING…

4 SEVERAL DAYS NOW, I HAVE BEEN TRYING 2 WRITE A POST ABOUT THE NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR FAMILY 4 THE SUMMER (OVER THE WEEKEND, WE PICKED UP 2 KIDS FROM THE UKRAINE, DIMA & MAYA). BUT LIFE CHANGES DAILY, SO BY THE TIME I FINISH WRITING A POST, & HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY 2 POST IT, IT IS OUT OF DATE!

ANYWAY, ZACH, WHO USED TO BE SHORT, UNTIL HE HAD HIS RECENT GROWTH SPURT, IS A GIANT, & EVEN SOPH, WHO IS YOUNGER THAN 1 OF THEM, IS STILL BIGGER THAN BOTH OF THEM! DIMA & MAYA DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH–YET—BUT THEY ARE LEARNING! SAT. NIGHT, AS I WATCHED MY FAMILY ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM, I GOT A HUGE KICK OUT OF SEEING EVERY1 DEAL W/THE COMMUNICATION BARRIER THAT I DEAL WITH DAILY. BUT I BET THEY WILL PICK UP ENGLISH SUPER FAST, OUT OF NECESSITY, CUZ THAT’S LIKE ME NOT BEING ABLE 2 SIGN EVERY DAY (& I DO ONLY 1-2 “NO SIGNING DAYS” A WEEK)! BUT I’M GLAD DIMA & MAYA HAVE EACH OTHER–THAT COMMUNICATION BARRIER IS LONELY & TOUGH ALONE!

IT’S ALWAYS INTERESTING WHEN PEOPLE MEET ME, & SINCE THESE KIDS DON’T KNOW ME, & WE CAN’T FULLY EXPLAIN ME TO THEM, IT HAS TAKEN AWHILE 4 THEM 2 “GET” ME, BUT WE PLAYED A GAME LAST NIGHT THAT I THINK HELPED THEM TO UNDERSTAND ME BETTER, & I HAVE BEEN MAKING AN EFFORT 2 COMMUNICATE MORE WITH THEM—AFTERALL, THEY SPEAK 2 EVERY1 ELSE “MY WAY”—BY TYPING ON GOOGLE TRANSLATE ON THE IPAD), OR THEY PANTOMINE/SIGN.

AT THE AIRPORT, I WAS ALREADY USED 2 PEOPLE NOT BEING SURE HOW 2 REACT 2 ME, SO I WAS FINE W/MEETING THEM. BUT WHEN WE MET THEM, I GOT THIS OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT GOD PERSONALLY KNOWS THEM, & SENT THEM TO US. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY WERE SENT TO US, & WHILE I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT I WAS A CHILD OF GOD, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO KNOW THAT GOD KNEW THEM TOO, & CARED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS 2 THEM, TOO!

THE SPEECH BATTLE CONTINUES…

IT HAS BEEN AWHILE! I’VE BEEN CRAZY BUSY, BUT I DECIDED TO PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD, & TAKE A MOMENT FOR MYSELF!

MY ROUTINE CHANGED LAST MONTH, SO I WAS GETTING UP 1-2 HOURS L8R (I READ THE SCRIPTURES WHEN MK GOES 2 TEACH SEMINARY AT 6 AM, & THEN WARM-UP MY VOICE AS HE DRIVES KIDS TO SCHOOL.) BUT SEMINARY ENDED FOR THE SUMMER LAST MONTH, & SO DID MY ROUTINE…

THEN, I WAS SO VERY BUSY, & WITH ME STARTING LATER IN THE DAY, I JUST SKIPPED THE THINGS THAT WOULD PUT MY ROUTINE BACK ON TRACK, SAYING THAT I’D READ MY SCRIPTURES & PRACTICE VOCALIZING L8R IN THE DAY…WHICH WAS EASY TO DO CUZ I WAS SICK, SO I WAS TOO TIRED & CONGESTED 2 VOCALIZE, & SINCE I STARTED MY DAY L8R, I WAS “ANTSY” & WANTED 2 “CATCH UP.” SO, I SKIPPED VOCALIZING & READING MY SCRIPTURES DAILY, & I ONLY DID 1 NO SIGNING DAY A WEEK (IT WAS 2 DAYS BEFORE, BUT I PICKED THE 2ND DAY, SO I STOPPED PICKING A DAY, & ONLY STAYED WITH THE DAY THAT WAS ANTCIPATED).

BUT IF I TRIED 2 PRACTICE L8R IN THE DAY, BY THE TIME I TRIED, I WAS TOO TIRED & DID THE BARE MINIMUM! I JUST DIDN’T PRACTICE AS MUCH AS I COULD HAVE.

LATELY, I’VE FOUND MYSELF WONDERING WHY I HAD SIGNED SOME THINGS THAT I COULD’VE SAID–& I WASN’T SURE IF IT WAS A LACK OF FAITH/TRUST IN MYSELF, IF I WAS LAZY & DIDN’T WANT 2 PUT FORTH THE EFFORT THAT SPEAKING REQUIRES, OR IF I JUST WANTED 2 HURRY & NOT PLAY THE GUESSING GAME CALLED “WHAT DID SHE SAY?”! SO, WHEN I’VE PRACTICED VOCALIZING, IT CAN BE DISAPPOINTING HOW SHALLOW MY BREATHING IS NOW! THERE’LL BE DAYS I PRACTICE MORE, & MY BREATHING INCREASES, BUT IF I MISS JUST 1 DAY, IT’S LIKE FALLING DOWN A LADDER! & I HAVE GOTTEN SO BUSY, IT IS HARD TO KEEP CLIMBING BACK UP TO WHERE I WAS!

WEDNESDAY, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A NO SIGNING DAY, & I TRIED, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS STILL MUCOS IN MY LUNGS (I WAS SICK LIKE 3 WEEKS AGO!), BUT CUZ OF THE MUCOS, NOTHING WOULD COME OUT, & I COULD ONLY MOUTH THE WORDS! THEN, FROM 9-1 I WAS SUPPOSED TO WHISPER, & SINCE I CAN’T WHISPER, I SIGNED & WROTE…I PLANNED TO SPEAK THE REST OF THE DAY, BUT FROM 1-4:30 I WAS AT 6 FLAGS, & IT WAS TOO LOUD TO HEAR ME, PLUS THE HEAT/SUN ZAPPED MY ENERGY, SO I DIDN’T HAVE THE ENERGY TO TALK! (I WAS STILL RECOVERING AT 6 PM!)

I CAN BLAME IT ON THINGS LIKE THE MUCOS & SUN/HEAT WHY I FAILED AT A NO SIGNING DAY, BUT I THINK IT REALLY IS BECUZ I HAVE NOT PUT MY FULL EFFORT TOWARDS SPEAKING, SO IT HAS WEAKENED ENOUGH WHERE MUCOS, THE SUN, & THE HEAT ARE REALLY & TRULY FACTORS THAT INHIBIT MY SPEAKING.

THE SPEECH BATTLE

AFTER MY LAST POST, U’D THINK I HAVE THIS TALKING THING DOWN, BUT I DON’T…IN FACT, AS SOON AS I POSTED IT, TALKING BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, & REQUIRED SO MUCH MORE EFFORT, THAT AFTER A FEW DAYS, I STOPPED TRYING SO HARD—IT WAS EXHAUSTING JUST 2 THINK ABOUT TALKING!

I STARTED THE MONTH BY SAYING A LOT, & SO MANY PEOPLE WOULD PATIENTLY WAIT 4 ME 2 TALK, & some still do! BUT SOMETIMES, I HAVE A SUPER HARD TIME TALKING, & IF I THINK ABOUT THE WORDS INSTEAD OF JUST SPEAKING RIGHT AWAY. THE LONGER I THINK ABOUT IT, OR THE MORE I REPEAT IT, THE HARDER IT GETS 2 SAY IT!

AS THE MONTH WENT ON, THE EFFORT LEVEL INCREASED, & I STARTED GETTING IMPATIENT W/MYSELF (& I SAW THE KIDS GETTING IMPATIENT TOO). UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN THE EFFORT LEVEL IS HIGH, SOMETIMES I CAN BARELY GET OUT ANYTHING, SO I’D LOSE FAITH IN MYSELF, & DO WHAT WAS EASY: I WOULD GIVE UP, & SIGN. & THE MORE I DID THAT, THE WORSE I GOT AT RELYING ON MY ASL VERSUS MY SPEECH!

NOW I SIGN TOO MUCH BECUZ I FEAR NOT BEING UNDERSTOOD! BUT THE REALITY IS THAT NOW MY FAMILY HAS GOTTEN SO GOOD AT UNDERSTANDING ME, JUST AS A MOTHER STARTS UNDERSTANDING HER TALKING TODDLER,, THAT WHILE A STRANGER MAY NOT UNDERSTAND ME, THEY DO (I CAN’T TELL U HOW MANY TIMES I THOUGHT, “THERE’S NO WAY THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT—EVEN I DIDN’T UNDRSTAND ME!”…BUT THEY DO KNOW WHAT I SAID!

IT IS WEIRD, CUZ I HAVE “PHASES” WHERE I TALK AWESOME! 1 MIN. I TRY & CAN’T TALK 4 THE LIFE OF ME, BUT THE NEXT I CAN, & THEY LAST 15 MIN.-1 HOUR, (BUT SINCE MY HUSBAND SEEMS 2 RARELY BE AROUND WHEN IT HAPPENS, & SINCE HE READS MY SIGN SO WELL, I FEAR I AM “GIVING IN…”) & ODDLY, IF I LAY DOWN, I SPEAK WITH MUCH LESS EFFORT, SO IF I HAVE TIME TO LAY DOWN, I CAN SUDDENLY TALK, WHEN I COULDN’T TALK B4, & IF I SPEAK SPONTANEOUSLY, IT IS EASY & CLEAR.

THE OTHER DILEMNAS I NOW FACE W/MY SPEECH:
1. I CAN’T COUGH! I CAN’T TELL U HOW DISCOURAGING THIS CAN BE! A BUBBLE IN THE THROAT, OR A LIITLE FLEM IN THE THROAT CAN FEEL LIKE MY VOICE HAS 2 PUSH THROUGH A BRICK WALL, IN ORDER 2 MAKE NOISE!
2. IT IS A BIG PROBLEM IF I’M TIRED! SOMETIMES JUST THE THOUGHT OF SAYING SOMETHING EXHAUSTS ME, SO I “WIMP OUT.”
3. MY EMOTIONS GET IN THE WAY. MOST OF THEM I CLAM UP.
4. MY KIDS REQUEST ME JUST 2 SIGN, BECUZ IT’S SLOW, & REQUIRES A LOT OF WORK ON THEIR PART, THEY ARE IN A HURRY, OR THEY CLAIM THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND ME, WHEN I KNOW THEY DID!

BUT I THINK THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS ME, WHEN I DON’T TRUST MYSELF. ALL THE ABOVE ARE VALID ISSUES, BUT I CAN USE THEM AS AN EXCUSE, & THEN NOT ACCEPT THE TRUTH: IT’S HARD, & I DON’T WANT 2 DO WHAT’S HARD! EVERYTHING I DO IS HARD, & I AM TIRED, SO THE EXCUSES, WHILE TRUE, MAKE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT IT, WHEN I SIGN, & DISAPPOINT MYSELF! (I CAN HEAR MY HUSBAND SAYING, “THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING!)

THIS DOESN’T MEAN I’M “FIXED” NOW. IT MEANS I RECOGNIZE IT, BUT I STILL HAVE 2 DO WHAT’S HARD, & AT TIMES I WILL SLIP, OR FACE OTHER OBSTACLES. BUT I KNOW THE UNFORTUNATE TRUTH: IT WILL ONLY GET EASIER BY DOING WHAT’S HARD. THAT’S WHERE I ASK 4 GOD’S HELP!