My Voice, My Way

Send us Fan Mail I’m delighted to welcome Kirsten Howells to the podcast. Kirsten is an experienced Speech and Language Therapist and the Deputy CEO of STAMMA, the UK’s national stammering charity. She is also a person who stammers herself, bringing both professional knowledge and personal experience to her work. Kirsten first got in touch with me after hearing the RCSLT podcast episode featuring...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m delighted to welcome neurologist and acclaimed author Jonathan Cole. Jonathan has spent his career exploring the remarkable relationship between the brain, the body and our sense of self, combining medical knowledge with the lived experiences of his patients. His book Hard Talk: When Speech Is Difficult particularly resonated with me. It’s not simply about medicine, but...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m delighted to welcome Chris Reeves. Chris is a solicitor and Partner and Head of Construction in Dorset, and he has been living with Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia, or ABSD, for around 25 years. Like many people with dysphonia, Chris has faced the challenges of communicating with a voice disorder while balancing a demanding professional career. But today’s conversation goes...

Send us Fan Mail One of the themes that comes up time and time again in conversations about voice is the gap between what we’re experiencing and what can be seen or explained clinically. From my own experience, one of the biggest frustrations can be feeling like something isn’t quite right, but not always having clear answers as to why. For a long time, voice has been looked at in quite an isolate...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode is a deeply personal and powerful one. I’m joined by Sara, a music teacher whose voice has been at the centre of her life and career for over two decades. But in recent years, she’s experienced something many of us fear - losing control of the very thing that defines so much of who we are. Sara describes feeling silenced, strangled, and grieving a part of herself -...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s guest is Jon Organ, known to most people as Jono. A husband of 37 years, father of four and grandfather of eleven, Jono’s life changed dramatically in 2022 when, after months of worsening symptoms and repeated investigations, he was finally diagnosed with Stage 4 laryngeal and thyroid cancer. Following a 12-hour operation to remove his larynx, thyroid and lymph nodes, alon...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a really powerful and thought-provoking conversation. It is a little different, but deeply connected to what we talk about here. Many of you will know Spasmodic Dysphonia as a voice disorder—but it actually sits within a wider neurological condition called dystonia. My guest lives with progressive axial dystonia, affecting his spine, posture, and movement. While ou...

Send us Fan Mail This episode isn't a podcast as Today is World Voice Day - 16th April. It is all about recognising the power of the voice - how it connects us, expresses who we are and carries our stories into the world. On World Voice Day, we also highlight the importance of vocal health and taking care of our voices. For those of us living with voice disorders, this day is an opportunity t...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever tried to speak… and your voice just doesn’t do what you want it to do? Not because you’re nervous. Not because you don’t know what to say. But because something physically won’t let the sound come out the way it should. For a lot of people, voice disorders are invisible. People hear the voice—but they don’t understand what’s behind it. They might think you’re anxious...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m joined by Aileen Markey. Aileen is originally from Ireland, has lived in different countries around the world, and now lives back home in Ireland. She was diagnosed in 2020 with spasmodic dysphonia and benign essential tremor - but her voice changes actually began in the early 2000s. She noticed subtle hoarseness and a slight shake. And When she sought help, she was told...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m joined by Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey, who lives with Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia and was diagnosed in mid-2023. Clarissa is an organisational psychologist by education, a transformational life coach, an abstract artist, and the host of her own podcast, Painting Your Path , now heading into its fifth season. Creativity and self-care have played a huge role in how she’s nav...

Send us Fan Mail Jaylan Salah is a poet, a self-described wild woman, and an incredible film critic for InSession Film and Geek Vibes Nation. She also hosts her own podcast, which you can find on YouTube called The JayDays — and if you caught the interview she did with me recently, you’ll know she has the biggest heart. We’re both big Austin Butler fans, which is honestly where all of this started...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I’m joined by Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Tor Spence, Clinical Director at VoiceFit, to explore two often-overlooked areas: children’s voice disorders and occupational voice users. We discuss why young voices matter, how vocal challenges can affect learning, confidence, and social life, and what parents and teachers can do to help. Tor also sheds ligh...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode is especially close to home. I’m joined by someone who plays a pivotal role in my own voice journey—my ENT surgeon, Professor Sadie Khwaja. Ms Khwaja is a Consultant ENT Surgeon and Laryngologist based in Manchester. She specialises in voice disorders, with particular expertise in diagnosing and treating conditions such as Spasmodic Dysphonia and Muscle Tension Dys...

Send us Fan Mail Part of why I share my story is to raise awareness that having a voice disorder doesn’t mean you can’t perform, create, or have a career in the arts. Today, I’m especially excited to speak with someone who knows the world of acting, voice work, and storytelling inside and out. He’s not only an actor and voice actor himself, but also a director with years of experience in the indus...

Send us Fan Mail Hello and welcome to another episode of  My Voice, My Way—the podcast where we explore the lived experiences, science, and support behind voice disorders. As someone with lived experience of a voice condition, I am passionate about opening up honest conversations about the impact they have on our lives—not just physically, but emotionally, too. “Today’s episode is one I’ve wanted...

Send us Fan Mail I am so excited to share this week's podcast with you. I am talking to a highly experienced ENT Consultant, Mr Declan Costello. Declan talks about the various vocal disorders and treatments available and gives advice on when to seek help.

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I am talking to Helen who suffers with Vocal Cord Paralysis. Helen has suffered for 3 years and her voice disorder has meant that she can no longer perform as a professional singer. Helen has had various treatments including Speech and Language and Vocal Manual Therapy. Helen talks about her plans for the future with a vocal disorder.

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I talk to Mandy who has a diagnosis of Muscle Tension Dysphonia and has been suffering with this condition for around 2 years. Mandy has had Speech Therapy but does keep having relapses in her voice.

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I am talking with Elsie who suffers with Muscle Tension Dysphonia. Elsie first noticed her voice was failing when she went to work with Santa Clause in Lapland in 2022. Elsie is still awaiting an appointment with the local ENT in Manchester after relocating from the Midlands.

Send us Fan Mail This is an updated version of this podcast as it was not possible to hear the 'before' recording due to background noise being cut out. Sorry about that. I hope you can enjoy the full episode now! You may still need to turn the sound up.

Send us Fan Mail In today's podcast I am interviewing Helen a fellow sufferer. You may remember the last time we did a podcast we were both struggling against the noise in the background so had to give up. We have both had treatment for our voice disorder and I wanted to give you an update on our progress. I think you will like this one. We were both quite excited to show you the difference i...

Send us Fan Mail Hi, today I just thought I would give you a quick update after all the various treatments I have had. It's quite a short one to keep you informed and let you see the progress.

Send us Fan Mail Today I asked my Husband Brian if he would like to do a podcast with me and he said yes but he wanted to do it himself without any involvement from me; however, as I pointed out to him, its my podcast I have to be involved! This was a very interesting talk and I learned things that I didn't realise or appreciate. Mainly, his feelings on my lack of voice. Sometimes I think we...

Send us Fan Mail I thought it would be fun to interview two of my Grandchildren, Arthur aged 10 and Matilda aged 8 to get their thoughts on how they feel about my voice. This is also one week after my Thyroplasty filler injection to show how I have progressed since the procedure.