dysTalk Speech Dyslexia - Dyslexia - Forum - dysTalk

Hello!

I gather that this site is about learning difficulties in CHILDREN so maybe this wont be relevant. A friend of my son (23, Dyslexic) asked whether it was possible that he might have dyslexia - but only in speaking rather than reading or writing. He says that he finds it very hard to transfer his thoughts into coherent sentences.

This came as a big surprise as the boy in question got a good degree recently from Bristol University. He said that's exactly it: no problems at all with written English, real difficulties with the spoken word.

Does anyone know anything about this, or has heard of a similar situation in others?

03/09/2008 19:28:34
Caroline

My 9 year old son is dyslexic. I have just been to his parents evening and his teacher told me that she sometimes finds his speech difficult to understand. This was mentioned to me in the past so I referred him to a speech and language therapist who couldn't understand why he was hard to understand because, after a long time testing him, his speech was perfectly clear?! This remained a complete mystery to me as well. I am beginning to wonder if it is when he has to think hard about something that he is finding it difficult to transfer his thoughts into clear speech. I am wondering whether or not this is a common problem for people with dyslexia. I haven't heard very much about the subject.

17/10/2008 19:51:46
Michelle Key

Lots of dyslexic and dyspraxic children have speech difficulties which reflect problems in organising their thoughts, words and speech movements so as to effectively reflect their thoughts. Sometimes, as Caroline suggests (message3/9/08) it can affet one modality more than another so that it may be hard to turn the words into speech more than the thoughts into words. Many speech therapists only test speech output in single words and sentences, which is not always enought to show up problems in spoken langauge formulation in less formal settings. My advice is to try again and see if you can find a therapist who WILL consider such problems.

27/10/2008 14:02:10
Lesley

I've just come across this as well. Problems with speech as well on top of the more usual dyslexia issues (spelling/reading etc.) Would a speech and language therapist be the best person to see?

23/06/2009 15:48:56
Kat

I was doing a lot of research on dyslexia lately. I'm 23 years old, I got a 3D Animation Degree and I have a 140 IQ. I'm very good at physics, math, computer science, Photography and Film, and I'm also very good doing whatever I want to do. I do a lot of research very often because I feel the necessity learning more and more. Today I heard a conversation about dyslexia and decided to do research on that. It seems I have about 15 symptoms of this condition, but the one I find more troublesome is that I find very difficult to explain what I'm thinking to other people. My way of thinking is very weird... When I think, I just know I'm thinking something because I feel that my brain is busy and I only see colored images in my thoughts. If someone asks me ''what are you thinking about??'' I just respond ''I don't know, I know I'm thinking something, but I just don;t know what it is'' and when my brain is done thinking.... the result is delivered to me as knowledge... It's like some knowledge just appear on my memory magically... and if someone ask me ''how do you know'' I have to respond ''I just know''. There have been a couple times when I had to give a speech in public... and it was very embarrassing that I was very confident about what I was going to say, but at the moment of speaking, I couldn't make finished sentences, I couldn't find proper words to explain myself.

Most of the time I avoid talking to people in person or by phone, I prefer to talk to people by a messaging software or e-mail, because that way, I have enough time to think my words out and say exactly what I want to say.

21/09/2009 10:39:30
Jess M.

hi! I am 43yrs old. I have been finding myself saying a word, although meaning another, quite often. Not sure if I am noticing it more or has the pattern increased with time. I say train instead of plane, but realise it instantly in most cases and correct myself. But I feel strange as I sometimes say words that I dont even think are in my sub-conscience. Please advice...is this something to worry about? How can I get my thought-speech connect back?!

14/06/2010 18:16:06
shyam gupta

Hi everyone,

My name is Jo and I am 44 and dyslexic. I have an odd form of dyslexia which affects things like my 'working memory' and speech. I have great trouble remembering peples' names even though I have worked with them for a good period of time. My speech problems depends on how nervous I am at the time but usually includes swapping the correct word I want to say with one with the same or similar sound but different meaning and includes some interesting nonsense words (I have made up some quite fun new words on occassions) in friendly company this isn't a problem but in more official company or with people who are somewhat impatient or critical of others generally I can easily find myself becoming embarrased or, at worst bullied and this has affected my working environment I'm afraid.

I love to read and enjoy writing but speaking can become very difficult! I find one word or a short sentence written on numbered cue cards helps enormously if I have ever had to speak to a group, and honesty is a really good idea from the start ie tell the group that you are dyslexic and work in a different way so if anyone is not understanding what is being said please put up their hand and let me know as sometimes I do not realise that something I have said is not coming across clearly, etc. Keeping speech focused to the point is often very difficult for me as I very easily go off on tangents, good friends can be very supportive by gently letting me know that I have gone off the point and reminding me what the original conversation point was (often i have become mixed up in my own speech and gone completely blank as to the original point of the conversation !) This can obviously be highly frustrating and leave you feeling anything from banging your head against the nearest wall in shear frustration to getting nastily depressed and questioning your own sanity - its often difficult to gauge if the difficulty is getting worse ie am I getting early dementia etc? The answer to this is no doubt NO it is just that memory is needed to sense whether change is happening inthe level of difficulties over time and memory regarding dyslexia and the sometimes accompanying difficulties of speech , recall and type of memory called 'working memory' do not help to assess your own difficulties, an honest friend or partner will be able to feed back to you if they feel your difficulties are worsening.

For myself stress plays a major part in both speech and memory difficulties - even to the point of causing severe stuttering and stamering on very rare occassions. The Adult Dyslexic Association were extremely helpfull in the past with explaining to me what a Dyslexic Crisis was and I recommend all dyslexics and their pals to look into this when considering the effects and multiple variations of difficulties that dyslexia can cause. My best advice is to try to find positive people who will understand and give you time to speak will help you get back on track with your thoughts if you drift of the subject or keep pronouncing words in a weird way or saying words that you did not intend and, if you give them permission and guidance, will help you with verbally offering up the word you can't recall when you get stuck and remind you of the initial point when you stray. I know this will not help for situations like job interviews etc but on a positive note our friends and family will be the main people we communicate with and not a job interview panel. If possible manouvering into the type of work / group of colleagues who will be understanding and supportive rather than critical and patronising is a really good idea even though it may take several attempts to end up in a positive work situation. Remember always dyslexic is never ever stupid and often an added benefit to a group or situation due to a dyslexics different approach to problems and different way of thinking. Keep a list of famous dyslexics to hand - helpful when feeling particularly blue !

Go for it ! Jo McIntyre

23/06/2010 10:07:23
Jo McIntyre