sometimes talking is difficult

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Normally I can talk okay, but sometimes it is difficult for me to talk.

It is not about knowing what to say. I know the words inside my head, but it is difficult to get them out.

For example, there will be long pauses between each word or sometimes even in the middle of a word. Sometimes a word will be repeated a few times before I can go to the next word. Each word just takes so much effort.

I have never gone non-verbal before, but this feels like maybe something close to it.

I mentioned this to a doctor before and he put me through an MRI to check for brain damage (tumor, blood clots, etc.). I came out okay.

Has this happened to anyone else before?

Is this something that happens sometimes to people with HFA?

I read of one HFA who wrote that he will occasionally go non-verbal when he gets upset, but I have not heard about any in between states before.

Quite often I find it difficult to talk and pronounce words properly. I'll stop in the middle of a word and take a deep breath and repeat the sentence slowly.
There are times when I speak fluently, but usually when I talk it feels like my ideas are too fast for my voice and I do the vocal equivalent of tripping over my own feet.
I used to be better at talking because I would take a book, say for example Don Quixote, and read it out loud at night (though at whispers because everyone was sleeping). It helped me increase verbal dexterity, if that makes any sense.
Now, however, it seems I'm back to square one and either don't speak clearly or speak too slowly and repeat sentences too often.

I'm sry to hear that

My ability to talk is very variable. Sometimes it seems like the ability is completely gone.

But, when I cannot speak, I don't have the experience of having words ready in my head. I just cannot convert my sensory understanding of some idea into words at all.

I'm actually taking an antipsychotic which has helped my speech be more consistent. (My verbal fluency was measured at 11% - below the marker for adults with dementia...but mine has always been that way.)

I think I understand. I can type and I know the words in my head, but on bad days I just can't talk. I would like to learn to sign to bypass the need for my voice.

I get less verbal when I'm tired. I don't have as much trouble when I'm jacked up on caffeine and very lucid. It also depends on the topic.

Sometimes I mash words together like "techniques" and "tactics," and end up saying "tactiques" or something similar.

I often stutter when I speak on the phone, and almost always when I read out loud. Usually more in the form of choking on words than repetition. In ordinary conversation I'm more likely to simply trip on my words. Saying them in the wrong order or mashing them together. Anxiety is definitely the main factor for me. It gets me very scatterbrained.

I simply find it hard to come up with anything to say, even when it's expected of me.

Oh gods yes! This has been a significant issue for my entire life. Sometimes there are words I just cannot say. I have a very large vocabulary because sometimes I have to find other words which mean the same as the word I cannot say. Very annoying. It's as though my vocal cords just will not respond to my will. Sigh.

It means so much to read that other people have similar problems as me. Thank you very much. It is so lonely being misunderstood by others because I normally speak fine, so when it suddenly becomes difficult or impossible for me to physically push words out of my mouth, there is disbelief or the outright suggestion that I'm lying or exaggerating or whatnot. People seem to assume humans all act the same all the time, as opposed to one minute being fluent, the next non-verbal. It makes no sense to them, but I have sympathy for them because it makes no sense to me either. *sad sigh*

I have never been non-verbal, but i have periods when it is much harder to speak. When i have to remove all external stimuli (laying in the dark) to be able to concentrate enough to communicate with anyone. Other times its just too tiring to continue trying to talk to people (when overwhelmed). Other times I find myself speaking very slowly, one word at a time, occasionally with palilalia.

Hello, I don't think you should be worried
Many here show similar problems for what it seems
I have many issues with my speak too and sometimes I go non verbal for choice, so I can rest a bit from the constant nuisance of talking much more than necessary as neurotypicals usually do and demand others to to do as well.

Talking is often where I have trouble - I have issues with echolalia for many useless social exchanges where my brain actually listening to what is being said, interpreting it, and coming up with an honest answer clashes with my awareness that you're not meant to actually listen or reply properly, just parrot a predetermined phrase in response to the noise. That clash plus the pressure of being expected to reply straight away often leads to me just repeating what the person said back to them. Not cute when you're over three years old.
I also have lots of issues completely unintelligibly scrambling my words over the phone. Some of my speaking issues are trans-related voice quality problems, but much of it just autistic scramble. I just end up babbling something that isn't quite English trying to catch the freight train. I understand where you're coming from just not being able to push words out though.

This happens to me sometimes as a part of my spinocerebellar ataxia. It's called "apraxia" for me. I have trouble finding the words in my head and then also speaking them out loud. But I think just as fast, so it's pretty frustrating. I've found that I can usually type fine when I'm like this, thankfully.

I am usually okay forming what I want to say in my head but actually verbalising it is a different matter..I find it easier at work where I am full of preprogramed responses to common questions but if a customer or anyone outside of a professional setting suddenly starts small talk or a conversation I can no longer form fluent sentences, my face starts to twitch and I often fail at saying some words entirely. It can be very draining and I often feel quite inadequate.