Is Robert Kennedy sick?

[Atman]

Forgive me, I'm not being flip. I am watching him on Tweety's show, and his voice is amazing...he sounds like a nervous thirteen year old who has never been on television. Is that voice thing a result of some sort of illness, any of you Kennedy-watchers?

[GCP]

1. Careful - we've had flame wars over this

:popcorn:

[tritsofme]

2. He suffers from spasmodic dysphonia

nt

[Atman]

4. Thank you

No flame wars! It was a legitimate question. His voice obviously isn't "normal," and I was just curious as to why.

Now I know.

.

[sam sarrha]

6. please include a brief explanation for medical terms...

[madame defarge]

10. Links

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Spasmodic-Dysphonia.htm
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/spasdysp.htm

BTW, Diane Rehm suffers from the same problem.

[Amy6627]

11. Did Rose Kennedy, his grandmother have it too? He sounds just

like her.

[jhrobbins]

15. Very interesting, Amy. I hadn't thought of that, but he does a bit.

[mcscajun]

20. It's a possibility. It does have a genetic component

and can run in families.

[patricia92243]

7. Can anything be done about it? Does it get worse- like he might lose his

voice altogether?

[tritsofme]

12. The wikipedia article explains it pretty well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spasmodic_dysphonia

[rurallib]

3. Been listening to him & Papantonio for 2 years

on ring of fire. He has always sounded like that from what I know.

[bigdarryl]

5. I was wondering the same thing i noticed that on AAR when he...

is speaking his voice is strange, if i remember correctly someone in his family was born with some kind of handy cap

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

23. Handy cap?

[jhrobbins]

8. I asked the very same question not one week ago....

and got the same direction, but no one proclaimed the onset of flame wars. Why in the world would that start one.


Also, the person that answered my question sent me to a Wikipedia post about RFK Jr and there was an explanation of it there.

[GCP]

13. I once had the temerity to suggest that I had a problem with his voice

And that it tended to make people listen to how he sounded rather than what he was saying. I got flamed pretty bad.

[jhrobbins]

17. Well, screw them because it is a tad distracting at first...

that doesn't meant that we don't love him or respect what he is saying. I think he is terrific, but his voice does tend to distract a bit at first.

[CountAllVotes]

18. FDR was in a wheelchair

but no one knew it. That was in the good old days when things like "handy caps" as some one calls them on this thread could be concealed.

RFK Jr.'s voice sounds very much like that of his father Bobby. Every time I hear him speak I think of his father, not his voice.

It angers me to hear people put him down because he has this speech problem.

RFK has a fine mind and his highly intelligent. The words he speaks are the truth.

These three things alone far outweigh any negatives associated with the sound of his speaking voice.

:kick:

[jhrobbins]

19. You responded to my post, but I don't know your point -

at least as it relates to my post.

[CountAllVotes]

21. some people don't know how to spell

you might try using the spell checker is my suggestion to you.

[jhrobbins]

22. Huh?

[immoderate]

29. The spell checker won't flag "handy cap."

Those are both correctly spelled words. I find that there is a reluctance here to correct spelling and usage errors, even if one does it civilly.

Understand that some words, if not seen regularly in print, elude even literate folks. Handicap, currently being politically incorrect, is rarely seen in print.

--IMM

[Atman]

25. Exactly

Did I say anything disparaging about Robert Kennedy? Nope. I asked a question about his voice, which, face it, is pretty shaky. Your point is perfectly valid, evidenced by the fact that I had to ask about it. It doesn't mean I wasn't listening to what he was saying, I was just curious about the voice issue. Some people get their knickers in a twist over the strangest things.

For instance...what's with the dude telling you to use a spell checker?

[jhrobbins]

30. Yeah , and it was directed at me and I wasn't the one that used..

the word, which was why I was confused. But, if I was to use that word, I would use whatever word I wanted to use because I had the privelege to push my Mother's wheelchair for 40 years and I think I have some insight into the issue.

[Xithras]

9. No, that's the way he's always spoken.

The first time I heard him speak I was kind of taken by surprise. After hearing John, Teddy, and Robert kennedy speak, I just assumed that all of the Kennedy's were powerful speakers capable of filling a room and commanding attention. While Robert may not have inherited his families penchant for powerful public speaking, I quickly realized and accepted that it was WHAT he was saying, not HOW he was saying it, that was important.

I used to lament the fact that his speech issues would probably keep him out of public office, since radio and television steered our preferences toward well-spoken and attractive politicians. If there's one good thing about the GWB pResidency, it's that the notion that politicians have to be good looking and well spoken has now been banished forever. The issue now is convincing RK to run. He doesn't seem interested :(

[Pharaoh]

14. Actually I think his father

may have had a bit of it too, always had that halted winded feeling to his speaking.....

[hlthe2b]

16. He has Spasmodic Dysphonia:

Spasmodic dysphonia is a neurologic disorder characterized by involuntary movements of the muscles of the larynx (voice box). The first signs most often occur between the age of 30 and 50 but with fluctuations in severity...

There is no cure, but botulinum (botox) injections to the laryngeal muscles and speech therapy are most helpful therapies. Surgery can often make it worse...


Bobby Jr. has spoken about this before with Diane Rheams (NPR) who also suffers from it. I've gotten to the point that I don't even notice it very often. Bobby is such a jewel that it is worth hanging in there long enough to become accustomed to it, IMO

[H2O Man]

24. Grow up. n/t

[Atman]

26. Was that meant for me?

WTF? A person can't ask a serious question here anymore? What the fuck has this place become?

[Kingshakabobo]

28. What the fuck has this place become?

Sometimes this place reminds me of my dogs fighting over a tiny stick or scrap of cloth. No real point - just fighting for the sake of it.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

27. He suffers from the same thing DMC of Run-DMC does spasmodic dysphonia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darryl_McDaniels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr.