Did you suffer from aphasia?


gatitoplata

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oh thank you jose for your offer i will be sure to post you and let you know wheni am ready and available i to had a stroke it was an ischemic stroke left side but i still suffer from asphasia

 

 

You´ll be fine in NO time , I promise !!

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  • 3 months later...

I, too suffer from Aphasia. I'm 14 months post-stroke and I still can't yell at my kids or argue with my teenaged step-daughter. It so frustrating! I went to speech therapy in the hospital and I had home care coming in for awhile. The problem started when I progressed to the point where they could no longer do anything for me. It seems they said the rest is up to me. I was told that it'll come back (my speech) on its own. I have five kids and I read to them but I would just like to be fluent again. I find myself often repeating myself and I don't have any volume. I feel like a freak. In social (rare) situations I just have to keep quiet. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. What worked for you?

-phildogg

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Phil: from Bruce's Speech Therapist and everyone must do this in order for it to work. We have it posted here in the house and all the major players have been educated in this: Ideally you should be asking yourself this stuff and getting the brain rewired, but if your family and friends do it, that is OK too: What does it make me think of? What category does it belong to? What does it do? What qualities does it have? Where is it found? What is it used for? It make take you three or four words in each question, but guaranteed, you will get your point across. Bruce is generally simple: Where is it located? works first time.

 

On the more complex stuff, like working with small children who have no patience, it needs to be broken down and I don't know if kids can get this but: what are you feeling? Feeling is tough for you guys and I don't know why, but: is Daddy happy, sad, mad? What about this makes Daddy mad? Behavior, poor choices, laziness, lack of regard for your siblings? If you can get to the emotion and the reason why, the rest seems to flow.

 

Unfortunately this needs to be done in steps and kids can be trained to do it, but it takes great patience and they do not possess that quality, so you must train yourself to ask the correct questions of yourself, to get to the point. Speech Therapist assured me that by asking the questions of yourself and rewiring the brain to those questions, it becomes faster and you need to pay less attention to the process and in Bruce's case, that is certainly true. I can see him run through the list in his brain. This will be much tougher for you as you are dealing with children. But, give it a try. Best, Debbie

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Phil: from Bruce's Speech Therapist and everyone must do this in order for it to work. We have it posted here in the house and all the major players have been educated in this: Ideally you should be asking yourself this stuff and getting the brain rewired, but if your family and friends do it, that is OK too: What does it make me think of? What category does it belong to? What does it do? What qualities does it have? Where is it found? What is it used for? It make take you three or four words in each question, but guaranteed, you will get your point across. Bruce is generally simple: Where is it located? works first time.

 

On the more complex stuff, like working with small children who have no patience, it needs to be broken down and I don't know if kids can get this but: what are you feeling? Feeling is tough for you guys and I don't know why, but: is Daddy happy, sad, mad? What about this makes Daddy mad? behavior, poor choices, laziness, lack of regard for your siblings? If you can get to the emotion and the reason why, the rest seems to flow.

 

Unfortunately this needs to be done in steps and kids can be trained to do it, but it takes great patience and they do not possess that quality, so you must train yourself to ask the correct questions of yourself, to get to the point. Speech Therapist assured me that by asking the questions of yourself and rewiring the brain to those questions, it becomes faster and you need to pay less attention to the process and in Bruce's case, that is certainly true. I can see him run through the list in his brain. This will be much tougher for you as you are dealing with children. But, give it a try. Best, Debbie

 

Dear Ethyl17,

It not the thought process that I'm trying to rewire, but the words to the lips part that I'm trying to overcome. Many times, I can't speak fast enough for it to be relevant to the conversation. The words are there, but I can't get them out fast enough. It's like the conservation is going by me and I can't catch up. All your suggestions, I'm already working on but I thought I'd be further along fourteen months post. I don't know what to do. There are several programs that deal with Aphasia, but they costs major $$$'s. I think I am gonna be this way for the rest of my life. I was quite the wordsmith before I had the stroke. Now, I talk reeeeaaaaalllll ssssssllllllooooowwww and with hardly any volume. I often have to repeat myself and social situations, I tend to clam up. That is so frustrating.

What have others done to regain their speech?

-phildogg

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  • 10 months later...
Guest MaineMoose

hello, I am hemorrhagic stroke victim with right side paralysis. I worked through speech therapy six months ago. Strokeboard.net has been my saving grace.

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  • 3 months later...

I am there with you all who have endurded months of their spouse not being able to communicate well. My husband is now going into his 6th month in rehab. We have tried so MANY things to help the aphasia, to better understand what he wants. He does so much pointing yet sometimes he may be pointing in the opposite direction! Yes and No, so hard to tell which he really wants to say. We have our four kids to keep us both going hard, and he is trying so hard. He is paralyzed on the right side. He was a big guitar player and really into music, So we are gonna keep trying and who knows he just might walk one day.. and the aphasia, we are going to try an IPad next with an app for communication. What makes it hardest is that he is right handed, being the side he is paralyzed, and when he tries to write left handed, sometimes his words and letters are so jumbled, or not even legible. With faith, anything can happen and this IPad thing just might work!

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SF: keep it up. Bruce was also right-sided affected. At at three years post-still yes is no and no is yes. But you learn to rephrase and sometmes no is really no-lol. You learn that one real quick! Bruce wrote very quickly with his left hand-and I always attributed that to his playing the guitar. No it is not pretty, but it is legible. I insist he do all the lists and checks, Practice, as with all things stroke.

 

As to his aphasia. Bruce is a Master's in English. He had an amazing command of language. Even his Speech therapist said he would be her greatest challenge. Bruce can not do "book" but he will tell you it is a "tome of literature". Who speaks like that? LOL. Fortunately we had his two college roommates to get us through the really obscure references! In your case, you have the advantage of the children. He will make great effort to speak and communicate with his children and you will use that as your bargaining chip.

 

One thing I continue to do is to make Bruce do is muscial notation. I have lined musical paper and make him work from scores for the guitar. Bruce never studied music formally-I did. He may never be able to play the guitar again, but with the new computer apps, may be able to write. And if he can read music, he may be able to manage a keyboard one handed with some synthesizer back up.

 

Just go with what he is willing to work on and know that he will find a way to voice himself. Debbie

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Hi to gatitoplata and to erobertson,

 

i suspect that some of my questuions will be answered somewhere, but I'm still navigating....

 

The survivor is my wife, left bleed Oct 2006, still nearly without speech. I think that the pdifficulty is in the very last stage of output, that is, she recognises what she wants to say but can't get it past the watchkkeper in the dispatch room. I think of the watchkeeper as a Jobsworth (a very boring little person in a dull hat), whose job is to say "You can't do that" or "It's too difficult", so my wife Det doesn't try, but gets sad.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Is it significant that the best results with reading are to tell Det firmly to look at all the words and pictures on the page and NOT try to say them out loud. Just run a finger down and say "Yes" or "No" accotding to whether she knows what the written word is. Quite often, she suddenly says out loud a word that may be five or ten words before the one she is pointing at, so she "read" it a minute or so earlier. Her speech is quite distinct and the words sound normal speed, but there is this delay. Sometimes, she has produced an accurate answer if cross or taken by surprise, e.g. show her a picture of a school group, she sees herself, I say "How old were you then?" and she immediately says "About seven". She doesn't seem to say any sentence longer than two or three words, except for the blessed day when I said "Do you want me to get the nurses to do something about your pain?" and she said "Of course I do, you stupid man." It was wonderful, but it was two years ago. She can speak some flash cards. But she tires of all these exercises in less than ten minutes.

 

2. I think there is also some cognitive or analytical problem. If you give Det a choice of things she can see, she can easily choose by reaching out, sometimes saying "Juice" or "orange" if you have named each item. But if you ask if she wants juice or milk or tea, she gets very puzzled and can't deal with more than two options.

 

If anyone can comment or suggest what to try next, I would be very grateful. And perhaps these comments may help gatitoplata to identify where the block might be.

 

HughW

Hugh, I am sorry to have not seen your post long ago. In my experience, reading aloud is critical to learning to speak, read and write again when all three are lacking in aphasia. Reading is the visualization of speech. Learning what the letters sound like, and translating the spoken word into letters have to be learning in new parts of the brain before your wife gets a handle on speech. I can summary the concept by saying, "Reading aloud is speech." Perhaps, by this time, your wife doesn't need much help, but to understand the importance of learning to read aloud, you might be interested in reading my book, Crossing the Void: My Aphasic Journey.

 

I am an advocate for an aphasic who needed more help and is now working with a school mentor, has applied for a literacy council match, and will also attend classes with the local university speech clinic. Not all forms of aphasia benefit from the school mentor approach, but when it is needed, nothing will suffice.

 

Carol Cline Schultz

Carol@CrossingTheVoid.com

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As a stroke survivor who is still dealing with aphasia issues, I have to agree with Carol. Reading aloud is critical. It may be very difficult at first. I could read the words in my head, but had a hard time getting what I had read out of my mouth. With hard work and practice (things all stroke survivors and their loved ones discover are constants in life now), it gets better. I'm still not what I used to be, but I get a little better each time. Your spouce will do the same, I am sure.

 

I also suggest both of you creating blogs here. I started one not too long after my stroke, and as time has gone by, my ability to communicate in written word has greatly progressed. Spoken language will follow closely after written use in progress. I know mine has, greatly.

 

Bon chance to both of you. As time goes past, you will see changes for the better. Even a small change is a change and it is good. Cherish the small successes. Before you are aware, they grow into great big ones!!

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Because of you guys, I had an ah-ha moment. Ray picked up a brochure from an event we went to the day before, and I said "Can you read that?" because he doesn't often look at newspapers or magazines anymore. He said yes, but I didn't believe it, so I pointed to the biggest print on the page and said "what does that say?" And darned if he didn't say, good enough for ME to understand, "Long Island Rail Road". It was magnificent, thanks for the idea; his speech therpist shows him cards, but they all have children and dogs on them for some reason, and don't seem to appeal to him in the least. Ka-ching!!!! ( I told her about it, and said he doesn't like those "child" cards you have, and she insisted they're not for children.......tell him that)

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Ask her if you can "supliment" the cards with some things that interest him. That way she sees you as trying to do everything you can to help Ray. Right now, the therapist may think you are trying to medle or you don't understand the level that Ray is at right now. By bringing in "supplimental" materials, she will see you as trying to help, and will gret a better read on Ray's progress, something that she may not have, especially if he is not interested in the cards she is showing him.

 

What have you got to lose?

 

Also, keep encfoouraging Ray to read and read aloud at home.

 

Best wishes for Ray's success!!

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Joe is 2 1/2 years post stroke and has both expressive and reflective Aphasia. In the early days his voice was like a whisper that you could hardly hear. Most of his words when he could get them out were usually incorrect. For along time all he could really say was yes or no. He was dismissed from speech therapy for no progress twice.

His neuro gave him a drug called Donepezil to try. Plus he's suppose to sing and read out loud every day for at least half hour. One thing that has helped with the reading is being sure there's not to many words on a page or that the sentences are not to close together. He's made lots of progress. He will speak in complete sentences some of the time. His words rarely get mixed up unless he's tired. He'll even start a conversation by asking a question. The strangest thing is his choice of words he uses now. He won't just say it's ok or good. His answers are always something like wonderful, absolutely great or supburb. He has a long way still to go but he I know he's still trying to improve.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Only recently I've been able to string sentences together. I always say things over and over again until I get it right. It takes some time. I only could speak like Dick Clark before. The conversation would move along and before I could speak, the conversation would already passed me by. I still have trouble with crowds. I can't overspeak anybody. It's sooo frustrating. It's been suggested that I try to sing the words. Don't have a singing voice. Never did! It's been a long 26 months but I'm finally able to hold a conversation with friends. Recently, a female friend came to visit and she said I'm speaking !00% better than the last time she came over. That's been at least 4 or 5 months ago. With 5 kids that like to argue, I'm finally able to argue with them. But it's been a long hard road. I'm still not fluent by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm miles ahead and still making progress. I've got my inflection in my voice back and I can talk on my cell phone.

Now, if I can only get my comedic timing back...

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