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Gendered Communication

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***COVID-19 update: all services, including individual, group classes, and consultations, are provided online via Zoom videoconferencing. Insurance coverage for online services is the same as for in-office services. Learn more about online speech therapy here, or contact us for more information.***

What is gendered communication?

speech IRL specializes in voice concerns related to identity, especially gender identity. Our team has extensive experience with transgender voice, voice feminization, voice masculinization, and gender-fluid presentations, which includes vocal, verbal, and non-verbal aspects of communication.

Non-transgender individuals may also wish to work on increasing or decreasing aspects of the voice that sound masculine and/or feminine, old and/or young, or other stylistic elements that influence how you are perceived by others.

Gendered communication services include:

  • Voice feminization
  • Voice masculinization
  • Voice rehabilitation and feminization following glottoplasty surgery
  • Vocal spectrum exploration and development (learning to speak in both masculine and feminine registers and styles)
  • Vocal style modification (for anyone wanting to address how others perceive them based on the sound of your voice)

 

What happens in gendered communication work?

Adjusting the sound of your voice is both a technical and emotional experience. Work typically begins with very technical aspects of voice modification, learning how to identify and adjust the movements of your vocal mechanism to achieve the sound that you want. This early stage involves experimentation to discover the right sound, vocal exercises, and dedicated practice.

Once you are able to maintain your new sound in running speech, we focus on expanding your ability to use this new voice in different speaking situations and environments. 

Throughout the entire process, we also address the social concerns around changing how you sound, and how the voice connects to your gender presentation overall. Even if you love the sound of your new voice inside the therapy room, it can be challenging to use this voice in a social context with people who know your old voice. Understanding your personal choices, values, and decision-making process around using your voice is a crucial goal in gendered communication work. We strive to equip our clients with the skills, knowledge, and flexibility to speak how they want, when they want, making informed and authentic choices for themselves.

* Please note: An ENT referral is sometimes required prior to starting voice work. We will be happy to assist with this process as needed.

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“speech IRL has been a huge help in feeling more comfortable with myself post-transition -- it's incredible how many moving parts are involved in something as "simple" as speaking, and the speech therapy I've gotten there has been instrumental in taking charge of my own voice. I can navigate interactions that I once dreaded with ease, and feel far more comfortable doing so. I'm very grateful to all the fantastic people working there, who have consistently done their best to help me grow and improve. They really do amazing work!”
C, professional