Why does this Kansas woman sound British?

Why does this Kansas woman sound British?.    <<Click the LINK.  This is the story of yet another fellow Foreign Accent Syndrome friend of mine.  Here she is having done a story with KWCH 12 Eyewitness News in Wichita, Kansas.

What I really like about this story, is that they allow her to tell the profound way in which it suddenly turned her life around and didn’t either sensationalize it, nor make her out to be something peculiar. Rather the reporter stressed that the occurrences are rare, but kept the story one of a positive and interesting note. It pulls the audience in to learn more.

I absolutely am thrilled with how Ronda is teaching English to students though she has a foreign accented voice. She is not daunted, but is using her new voice as she points out in a way which actually helps her to interact more with her students than she would have otherwise.

That’s making lemonade out of lemons! Now, if more people will come forward to investigate why this happens and actively seek to connect and study the phenomena, maybe we will see that it is not as rare as it thought. Maybe the medical research will endeavor to actively study those of us who wish to offer ourselves and our experiences for the sake of scientific improvement in this area. At the very least, this is getting legitimized by reputable reports such as this, so that less ignorant and vile statements will be made to those who suffer from a malady which can as of yet not really be easily explained.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Keep on being kind to one another : )

Some Recent News FAS videos

One of the most important things that we who suffer from Foreign Accent Syndrome wish to do is to find out not only why we are having the problems that we do, but also to help grow the collective understanding of not only of the disorder but most especially the PEOPLE who are currently suffering, their care, their care-givers and loved ones and those who have yet to step into those positions.

Therefore, I am very happy to add to my blog these links to these news stories which were done by JAX TV station in Florida. It is exciting to see some media attention being given to the disorder. Let some people who believe that this is not a “real” problem become less ignorant by getting a little exposure and also help those who are currently dealing with similar stories to take heart.

Here are recent videoes done with fellow Foreign Accent Syndrome friends of mine done by local Florida news TV stations.

This first one is a longer raw interview with Dr. Jack Ryalls from University of Central Florida. He is well known for his expertise in this field of study of the very rare disorder. So it is especially good to hear his insights in this more lengthy piece on what is involved in Foreign Accent Syndrome from his perspective.
Interview with Dr. Jack Ryalls Fox30

Pattie Yakaboski,
Pattie: Finding Her Voice

Video of Paula Westberry
Paula on JAX 2011.11

Frisbee Squirrel Days

Okay, so you may be asking yourself, “what is a frisbee squirrel anyway?” Let me explain. You know when those furry little varmits get particularly active and don’t watch out when they cross the street. They can meet up with an automobile who cuts short their nut-gathering life right there in the middle of the road.

Should this happen in an area that is not frequented by road-kill restraunteers (like Kentucky or Arkansas) or buzzards, a few more car tire passes placed across the remains and a couple of days of drying and stiffening; then; wallah… you have yourself a frisbee squirrel.

Now that you have the proper definition, you can better appreciate why I chose to use the “frisbee squirrel” as an accurate descriptor for my body on some days. On really, excessively weak days I even say “transparent” frisbee squirrel day implying run over even more!

If this were a Bugs Bunny cartoon, maybe someone could just pick me up, shake me a little from side to side, and then blow me back up (like a balloon) into shape!

As it is, I have discovered that severe Chronic Fatigue makes my Foreign Accent Syndrome much worse (so no talking), I am too weak to do anything (so bedrest) and confusion makes reading and writing difficult. That is why you may not hear or see me much, but will see … It’s a Frisbee squirrel day @@=~

Foreign Accent: Say What?!

Once again the Twitter monitoring is showing me that there is another surge in interest in Foreign Accent Syndrome. Today I read this article dated 12/20/2019 in The Examiner.com by Charlene Collins
Once again, many people doubt that such athuds could happen and say some cruel things in response or make jokes about how they wish they could suddenly have an accent of their choice. However, it does seem to me that the tide is turning. There seem to be a growing number of people who are genuinely interested, who actually show empathy by stating that they couldn’t imagine what it would be to live with such a disruption to their daily life.

I feel sorry for those who simply can’t accept it. I think that the people who respond with cruel remarks such as “she’s just doing it for attention”, “she sounds like a retard”, or “he’s obviously faking it” are really scared to admit that it could happen… So suddenly and unexpectedly…and no one knows why… and it could happen to anyone! This isn’t a regional, racial, sexual, or economic malady. It’s an equal opportunity shocker that affects not only the person afflicted, but everyone in their family and social circle!!
In order to help get the word out and misperceptions addressed a few of us FAS endurers are working together to gather facts about our individual cases, encourage scientific and medical study and research and then document and disseminate truthful, 1st-hand information. With that in mind, I wrote the following comment in response to the article I mentioned earlier:

I know that Foreign Accent Syndrome is real because I am living proof! This is really a pretty good introduction of what it is. However, I would disagree with the number of cases medically documented. You state 20 ever in the world and I know of 13 right now and I believe there are more. However it is commonly accepted that it is extremely rare and more like 60-100 cases ever since the original case was documented.
As a former pre-med student I am constantly amazed at the lack of understanding that we have of the human brain! Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
My own case started May 12,2009 after an exceptionally severe migraine and spreading facial numbness on one side. CT and MRI did not show a stroke yet something profound DID happen for although the facial numbness and headache were gone in days, I now speak like an eastern European, Swedish/French person speaking English depending on what words I am saying and interpretation of the listener.

Look around on my site (search fas) for lots of postings about living with this when not even many medical specialists have even
heard of it before.

MerryChristmas everyone! Http://ellen5e.com

Two of My Foreign Accent Syndrome Sisters

This morning I received word on my Facebook wall that the NBC Today show

Kay Russell and Sarah Colwill

had a story about Foreign Accent Syndrome on it. This reminded this acquaintance of me and he told me about the broadcast as well as sent a “God Bless You”. I love that! He remembers that I have had it since May 12, 2009 after a major migraine makes my midwest farmer’s daughter accent turn into Dutch/Swedish/German “Eastern European” sounding speech. I just praise God I can still sing regularly.

I regularly monitor the topic Foreign Accent Syndrome on the internet and web trying to get latest scientific news. That’s how I found out about Sarah Colwill last Spring. I reached out to her on FaceBook and am happy to have another FAS friend.

So I went to NBC Today online and there I found this video article about my British friend Sarah Colwill and Kay Russell who both have Foreign Accent Syndrome. We have been Facebook talking since Sarah came down with it also as a result of migraine back in the spring of this year.

It turns out that Kay Russell lives only about an hour away from Sarah so they got to meet each other with all the excitement that I had in meeting Fisher Fran last year. To find someone else who suffers from the same rare malady helps a person feel less alone. Even if there isn’t a cure. There is just something blessed about being able to share in the depth of understanding that comes from such a thing.

I am grateful to the NBC Today show for doing the story to help bring more awareness to the fact that Foreign Accent Syndrome does exist and that it does so greatly impact peoples lives. Yet, even when science doesn’t have the answers to the “why” or “what do we do about it” questions, people can carry on with hope. That’s a message that everyone needs to hear!

Well, here is the embedded link to watch the story, enjoy. FAS Women Bond on Today Show

And if you would be kind enough to comment to NBC for doing the story or here, it would be an encouragement.

Video Greeting from Eastside Ellen

Just a quick heavily accented video greeting for you… THANKS FOR VISITING MY SITE.