Are you considering improving your voice or speech?Β Would you like to convey your thoughts more quickly or speak in a stronger voice?Β You re not alone. Β Many people grapple with achieving clear and confident speech. Β In this blog post, 5 actionable steps will be outlined to help you unlock the power of clear speech and vocal clarity.
βWeβll Meet Againβ – How voices can shine through in a time of crisis
In our time of national lockdown, with the country looking for glimmers of hope, thereβs been a resurgence of the term βWeβll Meet Again.β Itβs a term synonymous with one song and one voice in particular: the voice of Dame Vera Lynn. Though Dame Vera was not a Dame when she first recorded that song, her unmistakeable voice and what … Read More
The Highs and the Lows: The Issue of Puberphonia
Generally speaking, cases of puberphonia do not present frequently at the Voice clinicianβs door. When they do, our interventions tend to be short and satisfying for both patient and clinician as successful outcomes often come quickly. What is puberphonia? Puberphonia occurs in males whose voices remain high after they have gone through the other physiological changes associated with puberty. The condition … Read More
Seeing the Vocal Light: A Case of Laryngeal Papillomatosis
What is laryngeal papillomatosis? The diagnosis of vocal cord papilloma can prove to be one of the most challenging voice conditions for sufferers . For voice therapists, our interventions are often limited and restricted to pre and post surgery assessment and advice. Papillomatosis is a rare condition in which small benign tumours caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) infect the … Read More
You’re As Young As Your Voice
Voice Matters- Whatever Your Age Whether Iβm assisting a performer or a retired person back to vocal health , their voice mattersΒ Β to them- and to me. Loss of voice function can be debilitating andΒ socially and professionally limitingΒ Β sometimes, it can cause huge financial loss. The Professor and The Conference One day I was contacted by a polite 86 yr old gentleman … Read More
The Girl With No Voice
10 year old Mary had not voiced for over 3 months. Not one vocalisation related to speech had ensued from her vocal tract in that time. She had already seen two ENTs and one speech therapist with no return of Voice. The second ENT, referred Mary to me. Both ENTs had assessed Maryβs laryngeal anatomy as normal with no evident … Read More
Mind the Gap: The Breathy Singer
There’s a place for breathy voice quality. In singing, it can feature for stylistic reasons or as part of falsetto range. In the spoken voice though, it might best be limited to an intimate bedroom setting. A spoken voice that’s too heavily populated with breathy voice quality is usually a voice that’s in trouble – either the vocal cords aren’t … Read More
VoiceUp – From Male to Female Voice
Spotlight On: Transgender Voice Modification Recently a trans woman client presented for voice feminisation. The initial assessment had similar elements to the thousands of other initial assessments I have carried out with trans women. This first session always contains my initial two exercises. I want clients – some of whom have often travelled considerable distances to access the service- to … Read More
Vocal Variety – The Spice Of My Life
“There is great satisfaction in bringing hope and relief to the vocally unhappy, challenged or afflicted. It is, without doubt, my vocational calling in life” – Christella Antoni One week in voice consists of many voice clients with varied diagnoses and vocal needs. This kind of mix stokes my voice passions and fires π₯ me to achieve better voice outcomes … Read More
It Began with the Letter R…
“My speech therapy career literally came from the tip of my tongue.”Β – Christella Antoni I wanted to be a speech and language therapist since I was about 5 years old. The seed was planted in infant school. My first teacher had noticed I couldn’t say my ‘R’ sound properly, and referred me for speech therapy.