What do you think of when you think of disability?
Blindness? Deafness? Loss of mobility?
How about a VOICE PROBLEM?
But think how much you rely on your voice: in your job and in your social life. A stressful meeting, at a noisy restaurant or letting your hair down at the pub – your voice is central to what you do and who you are.
For someone with a voice problem, such everyday situations can be a trial. A long meeting or big presentation becomes at best a physical effort and at worst an impossibility. The prospect of a telephone call is suddenly daunting. And the pub is now somewhere you simply won’t be heard, no matter how much you have to say.
Damage to your larynx - the source of your voice - doesn’t just mean a hoarse voice and vocal strain, as problematic as these things can be. It can also affect your breathing and swallowing. Just imagine if the mere act of talking left you struggling for breath?
In addition, there can be chronic pain and discomfort. The throat is, after all, one of the most sensitive parts of the body. That’s why a throat infection can be so painful: imagine if you had that kind of pain all the time…
Given all the above, we hope you agree it is incredible that no charity exists specifically for the support and recognition of the voice impaired. Can you imagine the same being true for the sight, hearing or mobility impaired? Of course not! What’s more, not only is there nothing in the UK, there’s really not very much worldwide.
The Lary Project was founded to meet this unmet need. It provides information, support and advocacy specifically directed towards this neglected disability group.
Are you family or friend of someone with a voice problem? Click here
Are you the employer or colleague of someone with a voice problem? Click here
VOICE VIDEOS
We run support groups for people with voice problems. At the groups we do all kinds of things ranging from group voice therapy and laryngeal manipulation to communication training and discussions on what it is like to have a voice problem.
At the group we have been running in Bethnal Green, London, we devoted one day to using participatory video to discuss voice problems.
Participatory video is a process where a group or community create their own film. The idea behind this is that making a video is easy and accessible, and is a great way of bringing people together to explore issues, voice concerns or simply to be creative and tell stories.
The process is very empowering, enabling the group to take their own action to solve their own problems, and also to communicate their needs and ideas to decision-makers and/or other groups and communities.
Here are a selection of videos we made on the day. All content was created and filmed by attendees.
They were done in an hour and are not designed to be brilliant works of art!!! However, hopefully they will help others to understand a little more about voice problems - the challenges involved and what you can do to help make the world a more voice problem friendly place for our community.
The first video covers some of the challenges of having a voice problem:
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The second video covers some of the things we would like those who do not have voice problems to understand about our conditions:
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The third video just brings together videos 1 and 2:
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