Who can me improve my Speech, i have a problem

[quietGuy13]

I finally told my Genereal Doctor about how i feel slow and that i can't talk well. He gave me a referral to a Speech therapist but what if these people dont believe me.

 

I look normal, i dont look mentally ill. But i've had prblems with language since age 6 and no matter that i went through college, i'm still worse than a 4th grader at speaking. (NOTE: NOt everyone that goes to college means they are good speakrs/writers. Cause in some majors you can get through without doing presentations, speeches, great essays etc. In all my classes i only did tiny presentations and when i spoke it was all full of stuttering and mistakes. )

 

I've had trouble in jobs, in my current job , etc because i can't understand more than casual friendly conversations. I try but i get soooo confused and i can't understand nor participate.

 

I also stutter(slightly) and make mistakes constantly in word choosing and in pronunciation.

 

Everyone that has heard me at work etc, always thinks, "ohhh it's cause he's latino and probably doesn't speak good english and probably speaks spanish perfectly"

BUT i'm 100X worse in spanish. I'm not a spanish speaker either. i just know alittle cause of my parents but it's the same problem in both languages.

 

So people say that but they dont even know that i don't speak spanish well either.

 

And so I'm thinking.. what if the speech therapist dont believe me...then how can i improve???

 

Or how can i make the speech therapist believe me.

 

I've read books, read books sometimes, and nothing of what i read sticks in my head. that's why my language is so limited. So reading books to improve my language on my own, is not a solution to my problem.

[cerridwen]

What you've written here is very understandable.

Tell your therapist the same thing.

Or, copy down what you've written here if that makes it easier.

You've explained it well.

 

My niece is a speech therapist.

If she and her colleagues are any indication, your therapist should be very understanding.

You likely won't have to convince him/her.

 

But!

If that person fails to comprehend what problems you're having--find someone else. There is help out there.

 

Oh ! I forgot to ask: Have you seen a neurologist?

Edited February 8, 2011 by cerridwen

[Feelin Frisky]

Why would a speech therapist not believe you? Give them the benefit of the doubt that they have seen a lot of people with a lot of idiosyncrasies and you will probably not blow their mind with anything all that odd.

 

Just relax and think positively about it. If you aren't satisfied with their performance in helping you then make a move. A speech therapist is in business to help people with speech issues--they are not there to pass judgment and blow you off.

[quietGuy13]

Just wanted to share something. Today i felt so bad.

 

i wanted to say something to this guy at work....and it came out all wrong. bad pronunciation and just didn't make any sense.

 

he looked at me and said "whhhatt?" and i was really stuck, and then i just gave up annd just summarized it with different words(3 words only). that he could understand. but still it was aweful.

 

i sounded like an a**.

And at work they were about to hire me... BUt i dont think they will hire me since I can't even speak well.

[thatsonlyme]

I'll try to give my perspective on your problem here, because I believe it's somewhat related.

 

I'm foreign born, raised in a different country and I came to USA at age of 26. not really the best age to start learning new language. as you said yourself, what I read doesn't really stick in my head anymore, especially now that I'm 32.

My knowledge of english was very limited back then, I was capable of having very basic conversation and that was it.

The way I approached the issue was somewhat incidental, I met a girl who didn't speak my native language (she was not a native speaker either), surrounded myself with friends from different countries and native speakers as well and basically for the last 6 years of my life I've been speaking english on a daily basis. I got to the point where I think in english and even dream in english!

 

I'm aware that my english will never be perfect but I try to improve every day. my opinion is that you don't have to posses huge vocabulary in order to speak reasonably well. Sometimes I can't find the right word and that can be aggravating but I'm never afraid to ask. When it comes to constructing sentences it's even easier: if I'm not sure how to say something in certain way I just say it differently!

I learn by listening to other people, everyday. It was very hard in the begging because I wouldn't understand most of what people are saying but now I understand most of the time even if some words are completely new to me. When it comes to movies though, I have hard time following conversations on the screen at normal hearing level but I guess it's just because I watched movies with subtitles since my childhood.

 

From what you wrote though I don't think you have problem with the language itself because you're completely capable of expressing your thoughts in sentences and what you said is completely understandable. Other members could analyze your grammar but that's not my field of expertise and I probably know like 5 grammar rules myself lol.

It appears to me that you have a problem pronouncing things and that's something I faced in pat and to some extent I'm still facing today. sometimes things sound great in my head but it just won't come out of my mouth right! some days are better than others and practice does wonders.

what I sometimes do is, when I'm alone in the car or in a house I try to practice pronunciation of words and phrases that give me most trouble. for instance it took me days to learn how to properly pronounce word "referral". when I pronounced it first time everybody laughed! rolling r's still give me trouble sometimes but I keep practicing whenever I have trouble pronouncing something.

so, whatever you tried to say to that man at work, try to say it again, alone, in front of the mirror if you want, and keep repeating until you get it right!

 

also I think you may have subconscious fear of saying things wrong and that's preventing you from improving. I had it myself, as well as many other foreigners I know and that can be a big obstacle! I know some people who lived here for 10 or 20 years and they can barely speak english! They try to go easier route, instead of immersing themselves into society, they shop national stores where they can use their native language, hang out with people of same ethnicity and they never have a chance to learn and improve.

 

I hope my post will be at least somewhat helpful and I hope you find a way to overcome your problem. I wish you all the best.

[Feelin Frisky]

Quiet Guy, I'm sorry you are struggling with this still. I urge you to take some action like at least seeing a psychiatrist. You may be falsely diagnosing yourself and need to be really evaluated to see if your patterns represents a known syndrome for which there is specific help. A "speech impediment" is usually a pronunciation thing and not an inability to form sentences quickly in social encounters. Stuttering is a symptom of something else going on too. Help might be right around the corner for you. But you need to start the process. Find out what coverage you have and see about a psychiatrist appointment. If you need help with expressing yourself, please feel free to private message me and I will write some things for you.