Today, an update, but it's really an assignment from my speech therapist.
I am to tell you why I go to speech therapy, what I am doing in speech therapy, and how it is working for me.
Unfortunately for me, it comes in two parts. I'm to outline it, and then I'm to write it. I've never been able to outline, so I'll try a simple list.
1. Purpose of speech therapy (for me)
2. Overview of assignments so far
3. Accomplishments in real life
4. Continuing goals
I babble. I babble because I lose my train of thought. I babble because I can't find the right word, so I keep talking until it comes to me. I babble when I get angry, although that only happens in the doctor's office or in letters to the doctor, when I'm not being heard. I am not concise, and I am not able to get my point across because it's usually gone by the time I'm done talking.
In addition, my ability to process and comprehend information has slowed. I try to read and listen as quickly as before, but I lose large chunks of content, because my brain cannot keep up.
The assignments I've received so far have focused on training me to be concise in speech. I have managed to complete all but one of these assignments, but with great difficulty. In the past, synopsizing a series of commands would not have been a chore, but I labored over each example. Subsequently, I was totally stymied by the task of dictating a book synopsis.
When groping for a thought or a word, I have been told to slow down. This is, for me, counterintuitive, but it seems to work when I manage to do it. It's a technique that will require practice, because it's so unnatural for me.
On the up side, I'm learning to be conscious of the moments I lapse into editorializing. In conversation, I am watchful of my speech, and I cut myself off when I start to use semi-colons and parentheticals. I received a telephone call the other day that terminated far more quickly than usual because I stayed on topic and did not digress.
I have a lot of work to do. Understanding how to be concise, as I once was, and having the discipline to do it makes me breathless. I am also uncertain how the lag in information processing and comprehension can be addressed, although I suspect the answer lies in my own adjustment to a slower speed. I am hopeful, however, that the small accomplishments thus far are an indicator of improvements to come.