Started Professional Speech Therapy

[Guest AmyB]

Hi folks, I had my first session with a professional speech and language therapist on Friday. I haven't seen many reports of people who've been down this route, so I thought it would be worth making a post or two about my experiences as I go along to the sessions. I'll try to answer any questions. Speech and language therapists who have experience working with transsexuals are hard to find; I only know of a handful in the whole world! (...but surely there must be more?)

The guy I'm seeing has been doing this with MTFs for years and years, and also works with professional singers, plus all the usual speech and language therapist (SALT) stuff. I'm pleased he also has an academic/teaching interest in speech and language therapy as it gives me confidence he's right up to date; it means he's one of the people making the field rather than just following it. That is important, I feel.

First impressions were great. The first session was mainly spent assessing my voice, finding out how I use it, discussing what I wanted to achieve and getting to know whether we wanted to work with each other. He performed a nasendoscopy on me to inspect my airways and vocal chords, and I had to do various vocal things while he watched how my throat and vocal chords moved from the inside with the nasendoscope (I had to sliding up and down in pitch, speak, sing, swallow etc). Then there was an assessment using Laryngograph Speech Studio which measured all sorts of things, most of which I don't understand - yet . For this I had two electrodes attached to my neck at the front and had to do three voice tasks: 1) reading a phonetically balanced script, 2) free speech - where you speak for a minute or so about your daily routine or something similar, and then 3) singing the song Happy Birthday.

I won't bore you with my specific results and outcomes, save to say that he recommends steam inhalation to most of his clients and for me especially (just plane water - no additional products in it) to loosen the/any mucus around the vocal chords. (He says that all professional singers who have good vocal hygiene will be doing this every day for the rest of their lives and I should be to, twice a day if possible). If you don't, he says it's like asking your vocal chords to vibrate in glue - which isn't going to help! Smoking is right out. I think alcohol is too (but I don't drink anyway). Don't suck throat lozenges or cough drops. Drink plenty of water - but don't over do it.

We got on really well with each other and we will be working together over the next few months. He reckons I'll be done by the end of the spring (wow!) and we'll do everything we can get as close as possible to having a 100% natural female voice. He appreciated that I didn't want to sound like Marilyn Monroe or Micky Mouse, and that I needed to maintain an air of businesslike authority but for my voice to be unmistakably, unquestionably female. Total cost for his services: ~£550 (US$880) for six sessions (which is typical and what he reckons I'll need) plus my travel costs and sundries. A bargain compared with laser hair removal.

One of the other interesting things he said is that he usually finds there's a measurable difference in the pre-intervention voices of primary transsexuals compared with secondary transsexuals!

[Guest van-na]

Hi Amy,

<<hug>>

Thank you very much for sharing all of that, it is very interesting to me.

Sadly my voice is male sounding, but I do keep trying to improve on it .

It is one of the hardest things for many of us to over come.

It is too bad that hrt does not help it, and most surgery's are said to be risky.

I'm gonna try inhaling steam

I love your post.

vanna

[Guest Donna Jean]

WOW! Amy....that's way cool...

First off, let me tell you that we REALLY appreciate you putting this up! You're correct in stating that there aren't many posts of this sort.

You know, Honey....with the considerable costs of transitioning, electrolysis, hormones, blood tests, doctors, clothes, many haven't given a thought to voice training.

And so many of us have voices that will not pass in the long run.

So, I have to admire what you're doing and I want to encourage you to post more on it as you go through it.....OK?

We all will be looking for your next post on this. Thank you so much!

HUGGS!

Donna Jean

[Guest Michele H]

There is a professional speach therapist where I live and have been thinking about it so your post (and hopefully more in the future) is very appreciated. Do have one question, what do you mean by primary and secondary transexuals - is this what we here in the colonies call pre and post op?

[Guest Robin Winter]

I've considered it, but I figure with all the other costs, it's not a viable option for me, at least not right now. But I will be eager to hear how it goes for you

[Guest viv]

Hi Amy,

Good on you hun , hope all goes well. The old adage will apply , the more you put in........

Theres a therapist doing work on Trans women here in Dublin, I hope to get to see her

later in the year. I believe its 350 euros for 4 sessions 75 a session after that. Post in your

progress hun, I would love to hear , viv

[Guest AmyB]

Hi! Glad it's useful.

Michele H: Typically, the difference between primary and secondary transsexuals is that primary transsexuals first had feelings of gender dysphoria before puberty, typically aged 4-6 years. Secondary transsexuals typically become aware of their dysphoria at puberty (age 10-12+) or later.

There's another more detailed, but slightly different description of primary & secondary transsexualism on Gender Psychology. Hope this helps!

[Guest Vivian]

Hi Amy,

I am also very very interested in your updates on this! Voice training is the one area of transitioning I'm really struggling with. Only $880, I always thought it would cost more for professional voice training. This is something I plan doing if it is that affordable. Thank-you for posting this and I am really eager to hear more updates from you on your experiences with this.

Love,

Vivian

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

Hi Amy, that's really useful info, thank you. I've been thinking a lot about speech therapy. I'm also from the UK, where about's is this chap based? London?

[Guest AmyB]

Hi Sam, yes he is in London. I'll PM you his details.

[Guest Eth]

Question: How exactly do you do "steam inhalation"?

[Guest Nigh]

Question: How exactly do you do "steam inhalation"?

Find steam, preferably from water, inhale.

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Hardly ANYONE HERE has any knowledge on speech therapy! It is so good to have this information! PLEASE keep us updated?

Lizzy

[Guest Eth]

Find steam, preferably from water, inhale.

Oh. That sounds much too complex and time consuming...

Thanks XD

[Guest nymphblossom]

Thank you for sharing you therapy with us, Amy!

I think your coach offers some extremely valuable advice, all very good things to do while practicing. But remember, in the real world, We need to learn to sound feminine over an extremely wide range of conditions that are often less than ideal- when our mouths are dry or we are out of breath, when we have food caught in your throat, or we are conjested and flemmy with a cold.

Keep us posted. I'm sure you'll do fantastic!

Blossom

[Guest Nigh]

Oh. That sounds much too complex and time consuming...

Thanks XD

No problem.

I over-analyze things too.

[Guest Maelee]

Ok, I am confused on the steam thing too. Does it like have to be hot steam and wouldn't that burn you? Or steam like from a humidifier?

LOL, sorry for such a silly question but if it will help me to get my female voice I will go for it.

Thanks;

Mae

[Guest Anna_Banana]

Ok, I am confused on the steam thing too. Does it like have to be hot steam and wouldn't that burn you? Or steam like from a humidifier?

LOL, sorry for such a silly question but if it will help me to get my female voice I will go for it.

Thanks;

Mae

Use a humidifier. It's safe and guaranteed to work.

.Anna

[Guest AmyB]

Hi all,

Done two more sessions since I last posted. A significant time commitment is required to do the exercises from each session, plus steaming etc. I've been doing two hours of exercises per day pretty much every day. I could still do more. It's all too complex to explain in a post or two. It is speech therapy (speech pathology) not vocal coaching. There's a huge amount of medical type knowledge involved, I reckon in the same way that it is sensible to find someone to work with you on hormones, it is just as essential to find a professional to work on you with your voice to avoid damage here as well. The damage could be significant; my speech therapist spends a lot of his time working with damaged voices where people have used them improperly for years or abused them somehow. Even if the speech therapist/pathology you find is not experienced in transsexual speech and language therapy, having seen what's involved I think (no, I know!) that you should find someone who is trained and willing to help so that you don't damage your voice.

Second session's exercises were (and still are, seeing as I still have to do some of them) largely about retaining and relaxing the laryngeal muscles, toning my diaphragm muscles and getting the vocal chords to do their job (to get higher pitch notes without tightening the throat. The flow of air must be constant). Got to get rid of all the bad habits picked up over years of speaking without proper training). I was given stretches specifically tailored for me and where the tension in my tongue and throat was. Plus various straw exercises; breath control, pitch glides etc.

I had the third session a few days ago. We're working on two fronts: 1) getting my pitch control independent of my breath control (more straw exercises) - this is important so that I can control the volume AND pitch of my voice independently of each other and 2) moving the centre of resonance from my chest to my nose and lips. In this session I am just starting to re-learning how to make some basic word type sounds (e.g. ng as in "sing" and some of the vowel sounds "aa", "ee" etc).