Chris Kamara has spoken out after revealing he’s been diagnosed with speech apraxia.
Last weekend, the commentator and former footballer disclosed that he had the speech disorder when viewers voiced their concern after a live broadcast of Soccer Saturday.
“Just wanted to let a few of you know who tweeted me today that I am OK-ish,” he explained. “Alongside my thyroid problem I have developed apraxia of speech and have been working to get my speech back to normal.
“Some days it can be a little slow and some days it’s normal. Hopefully I can beat this!”
On Friday morning, Kammy made an appearance on Good Morning Britain, where he spoke more in depth about his speech apraxia.
“Today is a good day so today I think I am fine,” he told Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins. “I don’t know how I sound but it seems as if I am okay.”
Asked about his prognosis, Chris said: “Because it is a neurological problem we don’t know. The experts don’t know.
“The brain is such a complex part of you that it is hard to say whether it is the thyroid that has brought this on. Will it get better in time?
“I am trying to use parts of my brain now that allow me to speak fluently, so I am with a speech therapist, I am with another therapist who is trying his best. So it is quite incredible really.
“Singing is not a problem,” he continued. “You can sing along all day long at the normal pace of a song, but talking when the apraxia kicks in makes it really difficult.
“Like I said, I am not after sympathy. There are so many people out there worse off than me. But I have come out and said it now, so it is there and hopefully people will understand when I sound a little bit not like myself.”
'I never in a million years expected that response, but everyone has been so brilliant, so kind'
TV legend @chris_kammy recently revealed he was being treated for apraxia speech disorder. pic.twitter.com/pCltKsSKvF
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 25, 2022
He also thanked his supporters for their messages since tweeting about his condition.
“When I put out the message after Soccer Saturday I never in a million years expected that response,” Kammy added. “But everyone has been so brilliant. So kind.
“People have got in touch who I haven’t spoke to for 30, 40 years, to wish me well. So can I thank everybody for that.”
The NHS describes speech apraxia as a “speech disorder in which a person has trouble pronouncing words correctly and consistently”.
“It is caused by damage to the parts of the brain that are involved in speaking, and involves the loss or impairment of existing speech abilities,” they explain on their website.
Earlier this week, Chris said he’d found the response to going public with his diagnosis “overwhelming”, and assured everyone that while his presenting days were far from over, live broadcasting “might have to take a back seat at the moment.
“The response about my Apraxia has been overwhelming,” he tweeted. “Unfortunately for you viewers this is not the end of me… but ‘live TV’ might have to take a back seat at the moment.”
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.
