Affirming You

Affirming You

Add to your control without losing who you are

When I came up with the term “Identity-Affirming” to relate to all of our services at Toronto Adult Speech Clinic, it was because that is at the core of everything we do, regardless of a client’s individual goals. Identity-Affirming voice and communication training is not about being ashamed of who you are or being inauthentic- it’s about feeling more confident in using the tools you need to make sure you can express yourself HOW you want in whatever situation you are in.

This means that you can know who you are AND make voice and communication changes that serve you best. This is no different than teaching a client attention or memory strategies for specific situations or voice tension release strategies so they can be more successful with their communication or voice use depending on demands.

If the nature of communication is that we are interacting with different people and needing to be intentional with how we respond to them and keep communication an exchange- then adaptability is a strength, not a weakness.

In Identity-Affirming communication training, you decide and develop the tools you need to feel your best. It’s never about removing or reducing part of who you are- it’s about empowering you with more skills to access broader command and control of the way you express yourself.

So what does it look like?

Pretty much anything related to how you sound or the words you use can be understood on a deeper level and used in different ways.

Some people want to modify the depth, perceived pitch, or colour of their voice; the ability of their voice to project or be heard clearly depending on their environment; their word choices or tone quality in stressful or high pressure situations- if there is a part of your voice or communication that you feel is holding you back from feeling more in control or confident in expressing yourself in situations, it can likely be unlocked as a skill to command rather than something that feels like it either just happens or it doesn’t.

If you are interested in exploring how you could understand and command your voice and communication more confidently, meet with one of our speech-language pathologists to discuss what’s possible in more detail. Read more about our Identity-Affirming voice and communication services here.