Colin Jost opens up about his speech disorder!
Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live is iconic. It’s woven into the tapestry of American Culture. Weekend Update anchors tell the news and current events, but with a twist of humor.
Colin Jost has been a weekend update anchor since March of 2014, but a writer for SNL since 2005.
In his new book, A Very Punchable Face, Colin outlines in great detail a speech disorder he has that has never been named. In his book, he details the following:
- only had “ma” “da” and “ba” as a child.
- didn’t speak until he was 4
- currently has monologues and conversations only in his head
- says “uh” to give time for words to catch up to his brain
- has a fear of the phone
- writing was his outlet
In a subsequent interview with NPR he admitted:
“I think the feeling is a lot of ideas and words are jumbled around, and I want to get it all out, and it’s like I can’t. There’s almost like a slight delay sometimes when I’m talking because I’m trying to get these things together in my head before they come out.”
He goes on to talk about his feelings of frustration when he was younger due to his lack of communication and having physical outbursts. Meeting his speech therapist, according to Jost, filled him with a profound sense of relief.
In the NPR interview he explains he doesn’t know if he has a disorder. Just that “as a kid, it was extreme to the point of not having any words come out for a long time.”
He credits his speech therapist for helping him unlock his voice and in his book he tells her how he is eternally grateful to her for giving him the power of speech.
Anyone else thinking apraxia?
Laura Smith, M.A. CCC-SLP is a 2014 graduate of Apraxia Kids Boot Camp, has completed the PROMPT Level 1 training, and the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP). She is the author of Overcoming Apraxia and has lectured throughout the United States on CAS and related issues. Currently, Laura is a practicing SLP specializing in apraxia at her clinic A Mile High Speech Therapy in Aurora, Colorado.