Michael Rosen asks what happens to people's sense of identity and social being when speaking becomes hard. Jonathan Cole has interviewed people with conditions such as cerebral palsy, vocal cord palsy, spasmodic dysphonia and post-stroke aphasia. They describe in their own words what the experience of not being able to express themselves is like, the frustration and isolation as well as the adaptation and resilience. Jonathan Cole is the author of Hard Talk: When Speech Is Difficult and a consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology at University Hospitals, Dorset. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University. Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz