Being at home for any amount of time can cause a person to regress in any place in their life naturally; we can think about the gym as an example. However, we may not think about a person speaking as one of those things that can regress. However, when you aren’t naturally speaking to people like you are used to, you begin to regress a little.
I’m currently on day eight of quarantine as I am writing this blog. Before this pandemic, I was a social person; I was always talking to people at my college and work. However, now since stuck at my home, I have observed my speech abilities regressing a little from their natural state. My speech therapist always tells me, “You are always so self-aware and proactive.” So, from being that, I have made a list of at-home speech practices; this way, I am still exercising my speech system. I hope you enjoy it.
1.) Voice Olympics!
Voice Olympics, fun name, right? Voice Olympics is where you exercise your speech volume. My own personal goal is to be at least 65 decibels in my everyday conversations. Naturally, I speak at 60 DB. So, this is a fun exercise to see how loud I can naturally get that day.
You’ll need to measure your speech volume level, DB. I use an application called Decibel; it’s completely free (not sponsored). Any application is fine that can measure your voice in decibels. Anywho, I first like to practice this out by saying, “Hello.” I go from lower to a higher level volume of my speech, making sure even when I am reaching higher levels, I am still comfortable. You should stop if you feel uncomfortable or are feeling any throat tension. I do this for a minute or two until I feel like I have exercised my speech system, or until I have reached my own goal of 65 DB.
I encourage each person to have their own goals and to also work with your Speech-Language Pathologist about where you should start. Other individuals with Apraxia may have the opposite issue of me, where they may speak to loudly. If you are a person with Verbal Apraxia who would like to lower your speech volume level, you will go from higher to lower in my exercise.
2.) Easy Onset
Let’s talk about easy onset. If you haven’t heard of easy onset, are you even a part of the Apraxia world? Just kidding; however, I have found every speech-language pathologist I have had come back it. Easy onset is where you breathe out your words, taking natural pauses when necessary. You can google diagrams of this exercise and print them out at home.
I like to practice easy onset next and breathing. I do it with a few sentences I know I say every day. For example:
“Hi! My name is Jordan.”
“Hello! My name is Jordan.”
“Can I have a large iced coffee?”
If I notice any articulation errors, I will work on that word in specific for a moment, then restart the sentence again using a deep breath. Taking a few moments to pay attention to how much easy onset helps you can remind you to use it throughout the day. I will usually do this for a minute or two as well.
3.) Focused Areas!
In our focused areas, we are focusing on specific speech issues we are currently facing; this can look different for each person and their speech. For me, my current focus area I am working on is s blends. If you don’t know me, you don’t need to know how I feel about s blends. They are practical individuals with Apraxia’s worst nightmare. (just playing?) Anyways, I will then practice my s blends for a few minutes. I will first use the word split by itself and then into a sentence. I will keep on practicing this, getting more spontaneous with my speech each time. Meaning, I will try to focus less on speech. Because ultimately, my goal is not to have to put in so much work into speaking.
For Focused Areas, I encourage you to note a few of you or your child’s goal for their speech. What words are they have trouble with? Are they those dang R’s? Then, practice them. Keep in mind; this is just practice. We aren’t striving for perfection. I usually practice for a few minutes on this one.
I hope this was something you could take something away from. If anything, know there are other resources you can use and pick up from. Also, to note, I am by no means a speech-language pathologist. I am just a twenty-two-year-old guy living his life with Verbal Apraxia, cheers.