Speech Frustrations That Come With Apraxia

People get frustrated with everyday things, but not that many people get frustrated by their speech abilities. However, frustration from not being able to articulate fully what you want to say is real for some people. The sad part is people can mistake these frustrations as a separate behavioral issue, and not from the struggles that come with speech issues themselves. 

My Story.

When I was younger and was gaining my speech skills, I use to get very frustrated by not being able to articulate my words. I use to stomp my foot into the ground, endlessly trying for the next word to come out, and still be there minutes later, red in the face upset. 

This is what the inability to speak can do for some people. 

Luckily, my mom and professionals knew this was because of my Apraxia. However, some people may have mistaken this as a behavioral issue when this was not my case. I grew up in a world where speech was given to other people, and in my world, I had to fight for what word I wanted to say next. 

Why do they get frustrated?

The frustration that comes from not being able to speak due to Apraxia is complicated. You know what you want to say, try to get it out, with your speech muscles not working with you. After reattempting so many times, you start to get upset with yourself. Because especially as a young child, you don’t know why you have these struggles. 

What helped me.

It’s essential to find what soothes your child’s or yourselves speech frustrations. For me, it’s breathing, positive self talks, and doing things that make me happy. I also remind myself things like this are temporary, and they will pass. Everything is temporary after all.