A current voice therapy patient of mine, is a 57 yo. man with Parkinson’s. He is also a licensed pilot, so we talk a lot about flying. Recently, I asked him what specific skills were required to be a good pilot, and he said: “eye - hand co-ordination.” When using instruments, however, he said the challenge is different, because you needed to fly the plane according to what the instrumentation is showing you, and ignore the information your brain and body is giving you. “How, I asked, do you ever accomplish that?” “Practice”, he said, ”practice, practice, practice.”

“So, “ I said, “flying a plane is a little bit like doing voice therapy. You need to ignore some of the faulty information that you body or mind is giving you, and use some other, external measures of how you are using your voice.” And you need to practice.

I tell patients that it takes about 750 repetitions of a behavior to establish a new habit. Now, if that seems like an unattainable number of repetitions, add up how many times your spouse asks you to repeat yourself in any given day. Hmmm…I guess now you can see how over time you have solidified your current voice habit.

If you are currently enrolled in formal therapy, attending an exercise class, or using the Voice Aerobics™ dvd, you have an opportunity, thru practice, to establish some new habits. Pick a skill that you want to improve in the next 30 days, it could be using a louder voice, more upright posture, or getting out of a chair without tipping it or you over. Choose one and than make a commitment to practice. Post notes around the house, in the car, on the bathroom mirror, use an alarm clock, anything to remind you to practice the new habit you are trying to create. You might also want to write down how you will feel when you accomplish your goal. Choose just one word, it might be something like: happy, proud, successful, strong. Post that word in as many places as you can.. And at the end of your 30 days, celebrate the success of achieving your goal.

“whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right”
Henry Ford

About the author: Mary Spremulli,MA,CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist and licensed nurse. A national lecturer, with publications on the topic of Patient Education and Ethics, and with a special interest in physician-patient communication.