Hey y’all
I’m often stumbling over my words. Saying the wrong thing. Although I do have some trouble with movement it’s not bad.
Do you struggle with your speech? And if yes in what way?
I guess I’m also wondering if this is a quote on quote ‘typical’ parkinson’s symptom, especially in the beginning.
Love, light, and magic 
Hi
Yes I struggle a lot with my speech, I have seen a speech and language therapist for over a year, I’ve seen an ENT consultant who said it is purely down to PD
I have also completed the Lee Silverman training therapy, I practice the Ahhhs etc…. Most days! But I still have problems with my speech, it does get me down and impacts on my life a great deal.
Are you asking because you are experiencing problems? Or is it for research? Littlenanny
Hi in response to your question regarding speech my husband has PD & a problem with speech. He knows what he wants to say but when he relays it to me it doesn’t always come out properly. The more he thinks the worse it gets. He finds it very frustrating & usually says he’s got wobble gob. This I feel makes him avoid conversation. We do laugh it off but I know it’s hard for him. He was told this was the PD.
I’m stumbling over my words and mixing sounds. Others can’t hear it but I can. They can obviously hear the stopping or pauses. They can’t see the frustration at having words stuck.
When I saw the neurologist he gave some of it a name but he didn’t write it in the letter and I can’t recall the word.
Definitely!!!
Thank you @Littlenanny and @Jane0804
That could be a description of me. I’m not sure if it is a typical PD symptom, or even if there is such a thing, but I know a couple of other sufferers with that problem, too. I struggle over spoken words, use the wrong words, frequent pauses. I was given rivastigmine patches. Not sure if they worked but then they changed suppliers and the glue caused a reaction. Now I take 3mg capsules twice a day. Does it help? No idea. I still have days when I struggle but maybe no more often and no worse.
I carry a card I got from a PUK local group. It tells the reader that I have PD and, among other things, I may struggle with my speech. So far, it has been met with patience.
I am told I also tend to gabble when it happens - I wasn’t aware. I was told to slow down my thinking and speech which seems it might help. Good luck.
I have a growing problem with my speech, but I put it down to the DBS. I had the DBS operation in August 2015 and when the stimulator is increased, my speech gets worse. It’s the lesser of two evils, for me at least.
Thanks for sharing! I guess it just - is!
Hi
Yes I struggle with my speech at times, I just can’t find the right words and the more I think hard what to say the worse it gets and jumble comes out, The way I am able to deal with this is to stop as soon as i find myself jabbering on, take a deep breath clear my head and start again slowly, works for me most of the times, although I still work and have to go to meetings I started to engage in the topic and was saying my piece when all that i was going to say vanished from my mind, I stood there just struggling for words Not everyone in the room knew I had PD but the ones that did came to my rescue, (bless them) But I have to say its made me hold back a lot,
i also have troubles with picking a word that is in the right ballpark but not the right word. often while i’m in the middle of speaking the not-quite-right word i will switch to the exact-right word, so i’ll get the first syllable of one word and the 2nd syllable and remaining syllables of the better word. very annoying to me. listeners often don’t notice (presumably because the listeners’ brains are good at picking out what has been said even if it is noisy and they just treat the wrong syllable as “noise”).
this got quite bad before my diagnosis and is much better now that i’m on levodopa/etc.
the theoretical explanation is that there appear to be connections between the relevant parts of the brain and the striatum and the striatum’s role seems to be to speed up the selection of the best word and when the striatum is malfunctioning the selection of the word falls back to less effective and slower methods. (sorry, i don’t remember which academic paper i read this in. i know the book it was in but it’s packed away now.)
hope this is somehow useful.
So interesting you say this because it’s a perfect description.
I love that they came to your rescue
i’m interested to hear that my description was a perfect match for your experience. when i was talking to a SALT (speech and language therapist) about this she seemed to find the “switching to a better word after the first syllable” concept new. i’ve never seen it presented anywhere except by me above in this topic.
If 2 people do it, more must too!
Something I’ve never seen professionals mention is seeing the words in your head, knowing the exact words you want to say but being unable to say it - you could spell ir write it though.
that’s a fascinating idea for something to try when having trouble. if/when i have this trouble again i hope i can remember to try visualizing the word i want to see if that helps. i’d have to do it quite fast to make a difference though. hmm.
I struggle with my speech, and It really is debilitating. First, my voice is soft and difficult to hear, which means I have to “shout” to be heard.I know I’m not really shouting, but it still feels like it, and puts me off contributing to conversations. Also,if I do think of saying my bit, I find, by the time I’ve composed what I want to say, the conversation has moved on to a different subject!. I was lucky to get the chance to do Lee Silverman voice training, but that was a good few years ago, and since covid, there is no more revision opportunities. Practising by myself eventually fell by the wayside. I think everyone needs encouragement to keep on with something…
Yes, like has been said, I also have trouble putting my thoughts into the spoken word, with my thought processes slowing down, and memory going. I do use pictures in my mind to remind me of certain words , and names that I continually forget. Of course, this is not always practical if conversation is speeding along.
I think I’m babbling now. Sorry.
I think the main thing is to have confidence in ourselves and to go for it.
Makes so much sense…
Hello ElleMac … My problem is not so much speaking, but rather thinking about what
I say before I say it. I am often thinking to myself “now why did I say that?” But as you say by the time we have ran our “thought” through our brain police & got the OK the conversation has moved on.
My sense of humour get’s me into trouble. Something comes into my head, I think it’s funny, I say it, BUT on further review it isn’t very funny at all.
Steve2
Or when you’re in the middle of saying something and then forget what you were trying to say or explain.
Exactly, E.
