Speakup Kernel and Orca

[Kyle]

tty7 is not a text-only console, and therefore will not speak using
Speakup until you echo text directly to it the way you did. In order to
get a text console speaking with Speakup, press alt-control-f1. If you
can't do anything at all from the tty7 console where you end up after
logging in, then you are having a different problem involving Orca not
speaking. A message was posted to the list a couple of months ago with
instructions that should work on stock gnome-shell systems that may help
you if Orca is silent befor login. Here they are in case it helps.

Once you know that you are on tty7, either via ssh or by Speakup going
silent if it was previously talking, press alt-control-tab, then press
the right arrow once and the down arrow 4 times. Press enter. Then press
alt-control-f1 to get to a Speakup-enabled console, login and restart
gdm as root.

sudo service gdm restart

You should be placed back into tty7 and hear "Welcome to Orca." You can
then login and use GNOME without Speakup getting in the way, and without
your system freezing. Hope this helps.
-- 
"Kyle? ... She calls her cake, Kyle?"
Out of This World, season 2 episode 21 - "The Amazing Evie"