Interview with Diane Piselli, Spasmodic Dysphonia Patient
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Beck: Good Morning Diane. Thanks for meeting with me today.Piselli:Nice to be with you as well, Dr. Beck, Hi.Beck: Diane, I know you have spasmodic dysphonia, which I believe is also called spastic dysphonia, and if you don't mind, I'd like you tell us a little about your story?Piselli:Sure Doug. As
Beck: Good Morning Diane. Thanks for meeting with me today.
Piselli:Nice to be with you as well, Dr. Beck, Hi.
Beck: Diane, I know you have spasmodic dysphonia, which I believe is also called spastic dysphonia, and if you don't mind, I'd like you tell us a little about your story?
Piselli:Sure Doug. As you know, there are essentially two types of spasmodic dysphonia; abductor and adductor, and some add a third type -- mixed. I have the abductor form of spasmodic dysphonia (SD) with Tremor, so my voice is very "breathy." SD usually causes voices to "break up" or have a strained quality to them. SD is a focal form of Dystonia; it is also referred to as Laryngeal Dystonia.
Beck:And I should mention for the students who read this interview....Abductor is when the vocal folds go away from the midline and adductor is when they go towards the midline. Typically, with abductor SD, the vocal folds (vocal cords) open at the wrong time due to spasms and because they can't vibrate in the open position, the sound is weak, or breathy. Have you always had voice problems?
Piselli:Yes, I believe so. When I was five years old, I can recall my dad asking me to speak louder, and I just couldn't. I always had a very soft voice. But then in high school, oddly enough, I became a cheerleader and I had chronic laryngitis, and that was about 1981 or so...so of course, being a cheerleader was about the worst thing I could do!
Beck:Did you see a physician about your voice?
Piselli:Yes. I saw many doctors, and they really couldn't figure this out. I was told I had vocal nodules. One doctor told me the vocal cords had been infected for so long that they were permanently bowed.
Beck:OK, so what happened after that?
Piselli:After that, I decided I wanted to be a teacher! I got my bachelor's in early childhood and special education, and I became a teacher...so of course, my voice was very important for me as it was my tool for my profession. And my voice was difficult and hard for me to manage! Nonetheless, I started teaching, and I went from being a classroom teacher to becoming the executive director of a 3 and
Piselli:Nice to be with you as well, Dr. Beck, Hi.
Beck: Diane, I know you have spasmodic dysphonia, which I believe is also called spastic dysphonia, and if you don't mind, I'd like you tell us a little about your story?
Piselli:Sure Doug. As you know, there are essentially two types of spasmodic dysphonia; abductor and adductor, and some add a third type -- mixed. I have the abductor form of spasmodic dysphonia (SD) with Tremor, so my voice is very "breathy." SD usually causes voices to "break up" or have a strained quality to them. SD is a focal form of Dystonia; it is also referred to as Laryngeal Dystonia.
Beck:And I should mention for the students who read this interview....Abductor is when the vocal folds go away from the midline and adductor is when they go towards the midline. Typically, with abductor SD, the vocal folds (vocal cords) open at the wrong time due to spasms and because they can't vibrate in the open position, the sound is weak, or breathy. Have you always had voice problems?
Piselli:Yes, I believe so. When I was five years old, I can recall my dad asking me to speak louder, and I just couldn't. I always had a very soft voice. But then in high school, oddly enough, I became a cheerleader and I had chronic laryngitis, and that was about 1981 or so...so of course, being a cheerleader was about the worst thing I could do!
Beck:Did you see a physician about your voice?
Piselli:Yes. I saw many doctors, and they really couldn't figure this out. I was told I had vocal nodules. One doctor told me the vocal cords had been infected for so long that they were permanently bowed.
Beck:OK, so what happened after that?
Piselli:After that, I decided I wanted to be a teacher! I got my bachelor's in early childhood and special education, and I became a teacher...so of course, my voice was very important for me as it was my tool for my profession. And my voice was difficult and hard for me to manage! Nonetheless, I started teaching, and I went from being a classroom teacher to becoming the executive director of a 3 and