When I began first grade, at the age of seven, my mom went to school with me all day for six weeks until the teacher began to understand me enough to teach me. My interest in ham radio really increased my speech intelligibility because I was very strongly motivated to be understood on the ham radio. I was a very lonely teenager and using the ham radio was my way of relating to people. I wasn't motivated until I got into ham radio, then all of a sudden I began to employ everything I was taught. I would think it was just childhood laziness.
All kids are lazy in one way or another.
I didn't have that many people I could talk to. I didn't make friends that easily so it was kind of like a vicious cycle. I had no reason to try to be understood. That made it a lot easier for me to talk. If I think people are going to interrupt me, I get uptight and don't talk as well.