Chelsea Osei

Definitions, language and common beliefs around stuttering, albeit helpful at times, may also be harmful and limiting. This article aims to give voice to stuttering-inclusive and empowering language and challenge outdated notions and stigma surrounding fluency. This article is for anyone impacted by stuttering: individuals who stutter, their listeners, and the professionals who support them.

Modifying your accent and achieving noticeable results is absolutely possible. While it may feel like a lengthy process, with motivation and consistent practice, meaningful changes can be made. If you're looking to improve your accent to boost confidence or increase clarity, speech therapy can provide the tools and guidance to help you reach your goals.

Breathing is something we do without thinking. Most adults take between 12-20 breaths per minute, which translates to over 20,000 times a day. But when we begin to pay attention to how we breathe, we can discover powerful tools for improving our voice and calming our nervous system.

It is important to have good communication skills for building and maintaining relationships, participating in social and academic settings, and navigating professional environments. In social situations, communication involves more than vocabulary and sentence structure; it encompasses how language is used in context — how individuals initiate, maintain, and end interactions, interpret verbal and nonverbal cues, and adjust their communication based on the listener and setting.

Just like they say ‘you can’t outrun a bad diet’, you also can’t outperform poor sleep. Your brain requires quality sleep to function optimally, for daily tasks such as: social and professional communication, learning, attention and memory. This article outlines the negative implications of an unrested brain on cognition and successful communication.

As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Well Said, I often work with adults who come in with voice concerns that affect their work, their confidence, and their quality of life. One therapy approach that many people find helpful is called Conversation Training Therapy, or CTT. It’s a newer method that’s gaining attention for being practical, efficient, and very much focused on real life. In this blog post, I would like to walk you through what CTT is, who it is for, how it works. My hope is that by the end, you’ll have a better understanding of how this type of therapy might help you find ease and confidence in your voice again.

Neurological voice disorders are voice disorders that are caused due to any damage in the nervous system. This may affect the pitch, quality, volume of the voice and may also result in an increase in the vocal effort to produce speech. These disorders not only reduce a person’s ability to speak clearly but can also significantly affect their quality of life, self-esteem, and social interaction.

If you think speech therapy is just for kids who stutter or can’t say their ‘R’ sound - you’re in good company. Despite their wide-reaching scope, skills and abilities, Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs, Speech Therapists) are often misunderstood and misrepresented in healthcare and among the general public.

As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Well Said, I sometimes work with clients on social communication skills, including the ability to recognize and interpret emotions. One of the most powerful tools we have for understanding how others feel is their facial expressions. The face is a window into emotions, and learning to read it can improve your relationships, communication, and empathy. In this blog post, I’ll introduce you to the work of Dr. Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of emotions and facial expressions.

A constant perspective I hear from bilingual individuals, particularly those whose first language isn’t English, is that they feel inferior. That having an accent and speaking another language puts them at a disadvantage for building connection, respect and growth as communicators both personally and professionally. 

This article will demonstrate why that is not true. It will demonstrate that you as a multilingual speaker are at an advantage - even when it doesn’t feel like it. In this article, the term bilingualism will be used to embody both multilingualism and bilingualism.