--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had problems getting my words out. If…" description: "\"I had problems getting my words out. If people spoke directly to me, I understood what they said. But when the grownups got to yakking really fast by t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/temple-grandin-1219_directly_i-had-problems-getting-my-words-out-if-p_3164411.png" --- # I had problems getting my words out. If people spoke… ![“I had problems getting my words out. If people spoke directly to me, I understood what they said. But when the grownups got to yakking really fast by themselves, it just sounded like 'oi oi.' I thought grownups had a separate language. I've now figured out I was not hearing the hard consonant…” quote by Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/temple-grandin-1219_directly_i-had-problems-getting-my-words-out-if-p_3164411.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/temple-grandin-1219_directly_i-had-problems-getting-my-words-out-if-p_3164411.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/temple-grandin-1219_directly_i-had-problems-getting-my-words-out-if-p_3164411.png) > “I had problems getting my words out. If people spoke directly to me, I understood what they said. But when the grownups got to yakking really fast by themselves, it just sounded like 'oi oi.' I thought grownups had a separate language. I've now figured out I was not hearing the hard consonant sounds.” [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She struggled to understand fast speech because she missed hard consonants, realizing the difficulty was phonetic, not linguistic. **In simple terms:** Hard consonants were missing, making fast speech sound garbled. Key Takeaway Pay attention to speech clarity for better comprehension. Themes communication neurodiversity language Mood empathetic thoughtful Type educational insightful When to use this quote - classrooms - meetings - public speaking - social interactions Key Concepts phonetics listening skills Questions to Reflect On - How can you help others understand fast speech? - What strategies improve listening for neurodiverse individuals? A Different Perspective Not everyone can easily adjust to speech patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consonant Sounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consonant-sounds-5734367/) [Directly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directly/) [Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fast/) [Figured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figured/) [Getting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting/) [Getting Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-words-5092910/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Grownups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grownups/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Spoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-spoke-585798/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate/) [Separate Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-language-5250144/) [Sounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sounds/) [Spoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoke/) [Themselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/themselves/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Poetry is a separate language, or more specifically, a language within a language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/poetry-is-a-separate-language-or-more-specifically-a-language-within/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Getting her words first is something I'm never gonna for get ever :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-mcbyron/getting-her-words-first-is-something-i-m-never-gonna-for-get-ever/) [Dimitri McByron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-mcbyron/) > [I wanted to find a way to speak for people. 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There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-the-language-that-left-us-first-the-great-migration-of-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I sat with my hands in my lap, because I knew that sometimes when people spoke, it wasn't because they had something important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-sat-with-my-hands-in-my-lap-because-i-knew-that-sometimes-when/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“I was aware that I was on the moon, but the immense distance separating me from the earth was a pure abstraction for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-was-aware-that-i-was-on-the-moon-but-the-immense-distance/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [There's a way that white people and black people spoke in the '70s that is nothing like how they speak now. They spoke from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/there-s-a-way-that-white-people-and-black-people-spoke-in-the-70s/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [“I watched these young people read to the audience parts of history that placed our country in context. I felt, in that moment, envious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/i-watched-these-young-people-read-to-the-audience-parts-of-history/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [Everyone told me not to take you back, who knew people spoke the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bognar/everyone-told-me-not-to-take-you-back-who-knew-people-spoke-the-truth/) [Jenna Bognar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bognar/) > [“People spoke of love as if it were an arrow. A thing that flew quick, and always found its mark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-e-schwab/people-spoke-of-love-as-if-it-were-an-arrow-a-thing-that-flew-quick/) [V.E. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-e-schwab/) > [“To this day, good English usually means the English wealthy and powerful people spoke a generation or two ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lynch/to-this-day-good-english-usually-means-the-english-wealthy-and/) [Jack Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lynch/) > [To be silent. In hopes of not offending, in hopes of being accepted. But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/to-be-silent-in-hopes-of-not-offending-in-hopes-of-being-accepted-but/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [The people I spoke to who were worried they would be killed for talking to me are now all ministers in the government. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-rewcastle-brown/the-people-i-spoke-to-who-were-worried-they-would-be-killed-for/) [Clare Rewcastle Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-rewcastle-brown/) > [Hey, I saw this old British movie, all the people spoke so different, you could hardly understand them. But everyone here speaks American as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/hey-i-saw-this-old-british-movie-all-the-people-spoke-so-different/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) ## More by Temple Grandin > [My problems are sort of more on a nuisance level. I can't stand scratchy clothes, I've got to have soft kinds of cotton against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/my-problems-are-sort-of-more-on-a-nuisance-level-i-can-t-stand/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Language just gradually came in, one or two stressed words a time. Before then, I would just scream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/language-just-gradually-came-in-one-or-two-stressed-words-a-time/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Some people with autism who don't talk, all they hear are vowel sounds. Like if I said 'cup,' they might just hear 'uh.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/some-people-with-autism-who-don-t-talk-all-they-hear-are-vowel-sounds/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. 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