Good afternoon folks! I've got an inspirational story to share with you. Scott Adams, author of the famous Dilbert comic strip, lost his ability to speak conversationally due to a condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia about 2 years ago. NB: This is the same disorder that Diane Rehm of NPR has. He retained the ability to speak in front of crowds and in presentations, but could barely say anything at all off-stage and when there is a lot of background noise.
About 6 months ago, he regained his speech by repeating a rhyme at a higher pitch, but later relapsed after coming down with a cold. A more recent posting details his progress with two routes: botox and another form of therapy with which he has had more success. Basically the issue is that Scott feels like he is speaking much louder than he actually is so his brain turns down the output volume. The therapy he went through trained him to hum at a certain pitch to get going on words, and feel for facial bone vibrations to get his volume correct.
The brain is an amazing thing... read his article and be inspired (or at least amused!).
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