Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy with Anne Quirk & Harper

*DISCLAIMER* Since recording this episode, a lot has changed in the U.S. and around the world. If you've been paying attention, you know that new federal policies continue to threaten the rights of transgender and gender-diverse people—including access to gender-affirming healthcare through insurance coverage. For more information on how you can push back against these inhumane attempts to deny basic healthcare, our guest Anne has compiled some amazing resources. Visit https://www.trueselfspeech.com/slpfreebie and check out the accompanying newsletter for affirming SLPs at https://true-self-speech-therapy.kit.com/a43a51b242. 

Have you ever heard a recording of your own voice and thought, “Wait a minute, I sound like THAT?!” We often don’t sound the way we think we do. And when we’re confronted with this perceived mismatch, it can feel pretty… well, weird. Our voice and sense of identity are closely linked, but why is that, exactly? For many gender diverse and transgender individuals, it can be a struggle to find their voice, which can have long term consequences for how they perceive themselves and how they’re perceived by others. Through professional mediation, one’s voice can be shaped to better fit one’s identity, which for many is a key step in the gender affirming process.

In this dynamic episode, Aidan & Emily talk with two guests, speech-language pathologist (SLP) Anne Quirk and one of her clients, Harper, to discuss all things related to gender-affirming voice therapy, a growing and fascinating area of care for SLPs and related professionals. Learn more about Anne’s private practice and the services she provides at www.trueselfspeech.com. 

A HUGE thank you to listener Kate for submitting today’s LingQuery! 

Do YOU have a burning question about the language & communication sciences that you’d like to see featured on the show? Record your own audio “LingQuery” and DM it to @lingquery_pod on IG.