Question About Speech

MetzgerMeister

Hi all,

I usually find it hard to begin a sentence with the letter D. I don't know why this is. For instance:

Did you go there today? - I would have to say it as - So, did you go there today?

It's not something that hinders me, I just find it annoying and am conscious of it.

Any help appreciated! Thanks!

Paul4As

I'm not an expert in speech and language therapy...but it sounds to me like you have a stammer!!!
You use the word "so" to help lead you in to words beginning with "d"...that is typical behaviour for stammerers!!!
It is a method of "avoidance"...even though you aren't avoiding saying the word beging with "d"!!!
Avoidance can be classed when you, on purpose, put in unnecessary words...such as "so"!!! You are avoiding saying exactly what you want to say...which is "Did you go there today?"
You say "You usually find it hard to begin a sentence with the letter D"...what do you mean by "hard"...do you get tension in your mouth???...do you get anxious???...do you try to talk and nothing comes out???

steamengine

einheisserschre wrote: »

Hi all,

I usually find it hard to begin a sentence with the letter D. I don't know why this is. For instance:

Did you go there today? - I would have to say it as - So, did you go there today?

It's not something that hinders me, I just find it annoying and am conscious of it.

Any help appreciated! Thanks!

Hi einheissschre - you're not alone regarding D. Been there myself with D and more besides.

In a nutshell by using SO you have replaced the first letter from D to an S and shoved the D to the end of the syllable. A blockage usually affects the first consonant of the syllable.

Try this - replace the SO with ED. You can cut down on the "EH" bit later on when you have the D sorted.

Exhale slightly and say "EH" as in ED. Say it continuously "EEEHHH". While doing so, Quickly Tap the tip of the tongue off the roof of your mouth. You should get the "D" sound.

What you are doing is "manually - so to speak" taking over from the speech motor area of the brain for that particular sound.

Takes a bit of practice, but it worked for me.

MetzgerMeister

Thanks for the replies! It only happens sometimes. I could start anything with D for months but then when I think about the fact that I used have a problem, it comes back again!

I'm thinking it's in my head??

Paul4As

einheisserschre wrote: »

I could start anything with D for months but then when I think about the fact that I used have a problem, it comes back again!
I'm thinking it's in my head??

That is typical behaviour for a stammerer...you have a problem saying a specific word...then you say it without a bother for weeks or months or even years...then out of nowhere you have trouble saying it again...whether through thinking of past difficulties or just because you are a stammerer!!! Happens to me all the time!!!
I still think it is highly likely that you have a very mild stammerer based on what you said!!! Not the end of the world though if you do have one!!!
However...don't avoid saying "d" words...and don't purposely use words like "so" to lead you in to "d" words because this will lead to you putting all sorts of fillers in all the time such as "um's" and "ah's" and "well" and "like".
Don't analyse or mark your speech either to much!!!
I think for most stammerers stammering is in our heads...we can talk without any difficulty when no one else around...so that tells us nothing is physically wrong with our voice-box or mouth!!!
If you think you have a stammer go along to you local self-help group / support group which you can find on the Irish Stammering Association website!!!

steamengine

einheisserschre wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! It only happens sometimes. I could start anything with D for months but then when I think about the fact that I used have a problem, it comes back again!

I'm thinking it's in my head??

Hi einheisserschre, Thanks for getting back - I don't think you have a speech disorder of any significance. I used to have the D problem but overcame it in the manner I have described.

As far as I can figure the whole thing out, speech blockages are the result of "screwed up" neural signals from the brain to the various muscles necessary for speech eg facial, tongue, lips, vocal chords.

Why does this happen ?

Some degree of stress is initiated by having to talk in the company of other people - or anticipating that you will have to say "Did", for example, which also initiates the stress.

As Paul 4a's has said and from my own experience too - don't shy away from saying exactly what you want to say !!!

IMO a lot of people who stammer would like to be at the stage of intermittently hesitating on 1 consonant !!!

Packieenright

I'm with ye on this one, ya it sounds like the LHS of the brain not talking to the RHS. I'm fine at the moment, but the other night in the pub it came back at me bad. Always happens even after one pint, so the girls aren't waiting around for the sentence to finish! A way i got around it for me is that I skip the 1st word of the sentence that was causing the blockage in being able to talk. It means that now the sentence makes poor gramattical sense, but whoever I'm talking to normally gets the point i'm trying to make. Terrible thing to have, not make any easier by people laughing at it.