Quicktrader wrote:
I do believe that Z had been dyslexic to some grade...do you know if and why this also might come with Z's strange voice? He had told Nancy Slover 'Gooooood Byyyyyyyyye' in sort of a creepy way and it has been mentioned that his voice was sort of robotic when he was in rage or on the phone.
To write letters with errors however, on first appearance, is something completely different.
Can those two behaviours somehow be connected? Thanks if you know anything about that.
QT
Hello.
To begin with, it is important to note that dyslexia is believed to be more genetic than psychological disorder, tho latest researches shows that psychological aspects plays crucial role in it's development.
Dyslexia can occur in persons' writing and also in a speech, but it is not necessary that one individual would contain both of them in an active form. For example, person can write "normally", but at the same time have troubles with a speech.
Writing errors are related to speech recognition mechanism and speech as such, in case if person is reading text or trying to make a grammatically correct sentence. An individual who have dyslectic speech disorder and who is reading a text (especially in particularly high excitability conditions) would usually make words sound long, because of speech recognition problem. They also tend to mess up words, stammer and blend sounds to make a certain word, also it may take a certain time to say a sentence due to a problem of thought organization.
Speech disorder for people with dyslexia usually includes mainly five aspects:
1) Hoarseness;
2) Complete loss of voice for certain period of time;
3) Strain while speaking;
4) Vocal nodules;
5) Breathing difficulties while speaking.
As for my personal experience from working with kids who suffer from dyslexia (6-8y old), I've experienced certain things which lead me to think that dyslectic speech disorder is strongly linked with psychological matters. For example some 75% (more or less) of kids with this problem tend to hide their face from a people they are talking to (including cases when they hide their face while talking to some animal - cat, dog, etc.). Face hiding phenomenon tends to help solving their dyslectic speech problem and gives them more confidence for a period of speech act. Most commonly kids:
1) Tend to hide behind table, chair, other obstacles;
2) Hides in closet;
3) Turns back on their discussion partners or asks them not to look on them, because they don't let them talk;
4) Covers their face with something;
5) Talks with a person who doesn't look on them.
If we now follow the possibility that Zodiac, when making his phone calls to police, was actually reading content of his message from a paper to not forget all that he wanted to say (if he had dyslexia and problems with organizing his speech into logically constructed sentences), then yes, it could of affect speech in a way that witnesses described.
However I doubt that this voice problem in this particular case can be related to dyslexia. There are so many speech disorders (genetic/psychological/neurological) and many of them still haven't been fully explained and researched. Voice changes due to anger can as well point to so called Repressed anger syndrome. Also speech defects doesn't always lead us to some psychological/genetic disorders. Might as well be unsuccessful speech organ surgery, brain injury. Might as well be: "I want to sound creepy"
But in this context - as much as I've read about Zodiac - monotone robotic voice, clumsy walk, etc., I'd rather suggest a closer look at Asperger syndrome (maybe an early stage of Parkinson's disease, depending on his age).
Crucial factor (and still not enough) to answer this question would be to know Zodiac's exact age by the time of his crimes, because dyslectic speech disorder for 25y old guy can be completely different as for a 45y old one. That is why I suggested closer look to Asperger syndrome with it's most common symptoms:
1) Difficulty with social skills;
2) Inability to develop peer relationships;
3) Socially and emotionally inappropriate responses;
4) Unusually loud or monotonous voice with a certain rhythm;5) Physically awkward, clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements;
6) Talks at length about a subject or repeats a word or phrase many times;
7) Normal to superior intellectual abilities;
8) Preoccupation with their own agenda - in their "own world";
9) Unusually accurate memory for details;
10) Formal manner of speaking;
11) Unaware of others' feelings;
12) Areas of special interest, particularly in intellectual areas (math, science, reading) or parts of objects;
13) Difficulty with nonverbal communication - limited use of gestures, clumsy body language, inappropriate facial expressions;
14) Obsessiveness with routines.
But this all is just my subjective view
And honestly I don't like this what psychology does with adjusting objective symptoms to everyone. Each case is sooooo individual and you can never find any person who doesn't fit to any disorder symptom ever given by psychologists.
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:58 pm