Anomic Aphasia


lydiacevedo

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I was looking up aphasia, on line, as I am want to do with things. R&D has been half of what I do for a long time now. I learned that there are several types of aphasia, that it impacts not only speaking, but reading and writing as well, to different extents, based on type, and that if it hasn't corrected itself 2-3 months post, chances of a full recovery are slim.

 

Well, that sent me straight to my doctors for explanations and reasons, along with "what are my chances" questions. What Igot was this:

 

I have been diagnosed with Anomic Aphasia and yes, I will probably have it the rest of my life. At least it is mild. There are things I can do to cope, like the idea Sam and Logan had of putting the names of things I son't have words for on them around the house. That will help me, when I am speaking, to identify objects "properly" and can help to remove frustrations on everybody's parts. I can also fall back on gestures and teling one what the thing does or what it is used for when I can't find the word to name it. There are also audio books instead of reading, as I have some minor problems with that. Sam also suggested he could read to me. That would give us a new thing to do together. I liked that idea.

 

Have others been given aphasia as a "new normal?" What have you don'e to cope with it?

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I have aphasia and I don't have so much at home with my husband though he wishes sometimes I did,,,,lol

 

I tap my fingers in order to slow down. on top of my problem I used to stutter and I managed it well.. Now I dint have the protection as before. I rarely talk when i go out and I'll, like you, will have this for the rest of my life. I do have problems reading like it's words. I don't comprehend things as I once did, but I also have a vestibular issues that plays power house with my aphasia.

How I cope?

 

I use gestures or text a lot. my friends and family have been wonderful in being patient for they know. I also made a badge size sign that explains I had a stroke to please be patient. Some people are impatient for they are in disbelief someone so young could have had a stroke. My husband and family can tell when I'm overwhelmed ( ie loud places, stores) they speak for me as I point. I also carry around a small pad and I write things down.

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Lydia: my Bruce, stroke March 2009, is a Master's degree in English. His speech therapist sent from Home Rehab treated him like a five year old. She did not last. We interviewed several, since we were paying and chose a hot, 30 year old Italian. She said all along, Bruce will be my biggest challenge. His command of language and the aphasia were challenging, but our ST worked with him.

 

She picked up a volume of Norton's Anthology and said, What is this? Bruce said, a volume of literature. She said, yes, but what is it. Bruce said a volume of classical literature. She said, yes, but what is it? She wanted "book" and would not stop until Bruce gave it to her.

 

She figured out, early on, that Bruce would probably not conform with her strategies, but insisted all of us involved in Bruce's care use it. It is a pie chart basically and makes Bruce go in from the back side to the problem. Her theory was that it would rewire his brain to think these questions through himself. What does it look like, where is it located, what color is it, what is its function, etc. It was tiring and tedious, but got easier to get through as all of us caregivers learned to use it. Our trigger charts are located in various parts of the house, but after two years, most of us no longer have to refer to them.

 

And guess what? Bruce is finally doing it himself! The outcome we were all working towards. He knows the questions, knows the order we ask them in, and finally does all the work himself and get there. Yes, when he is over tired or stressed, he may not get right to it. But if we back off for a bit, he will find it. Whatever works, go for it. Just another method of rewiring the brain. Best, Debbie

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I know many survivors here has aphasia and as far as I know that is in the left brain, so those who has it normally have right side weakness. There are a few that it's reversed for them so I can see where there are different kinds, some more than others.

 

 

 

Lydi,

This anomic aphasia makes me wonder if that could also be the cause of stammering speech which I had all my life? There has to be some reason and it probably wouldn't have been medically known back in 1941. My son was born in 1966 and he stutters also from birth!

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I know many survivors here has aphasia and as far as I know that is in the left brain, so those who has it normally have right side weakness. There are a few that it's reversed for them so I can see where there are different kinds, some more than others.

 

 

 

Lydi,

This anomic aphasia makes me wonder if that could also be the cause of stammering speech which I had all my life? There has to be some reason and it probably wouldn't have been medically known back in 1941. My son was born in 1966 and he stutters also from birth!

 

 

According to Dr. Mike, my stuttering, which only started post-stroke, is a part of the aphasia. The brain is trying to find a word and can't, so it "skips" like an old record player with a scratch. It hits the void space and doesn't know where to go from there so it goes back a step.

 

It could be possible that people who stutter have a neurologic problem with the language area of the brain (left side). It's something to ask your doctor any way.

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I have aphasia. MIld Expressive and comprehension.It still is chalanging sometimes . I studder when Talk faster than i can think now. I also can not find the right word now and again. When i read i need to read 4-5 times to understand. Just part of everyday life now. People dont know so not to much of an issue. It can be devestating tho... You seen to be expressing yourself well tho Lydi. Congrats on that.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I suffer from Aphasia, also. The part I can't get right is the words to lips. The words are there, but I can't get the words out fast enough to be relevant to the conversation. It can be frustrating at times. I have all my faculties intact and I speak very slow. But when I'm rushed or need to say something quick, then I falter. My wife knows this and uses it to her advantage. If I need to say something quick, I'm at a disadvantage. Social situations are the worse for me. I tend to clam up and not say anything.

For example, my wife took me to a fish fry at our church on Friday, an extremely long line was the problem and even though I walk with a cane, I had to sit down. I picked the table closest to the door. Three old ladies and another older couple were sitting there. When I sat down and joined them, one lady asked "What's wrong with you?". In my best Dick Clark imitation I said, "I had a stroke". They were hard of hearing and said "Huh, what did you say". I repeated myself and I guess they had pity on me and they asked one more question. And that was "Are with with somebody, who's gonna bring your food?". At that point, my family came up to me and said we need to go to table 18 and saved me from further interrogation. I thanked the ladies for letting sit there and I politely excuse myself.

I don't like it when I have to go out in public and someone starts to talk to me.

 

-phildogg

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Phill, I totally get that. I have a problem getting words out quickly when speaking too. Strangely enough, I do just fine when I am typing and my words per minute have not gone down very much. I touch type, so I don't even look at the keys very often.

 

Back to the whole speaking thing. Sam did that to me this weekend. He was in a huff about something that had nothing to do with me when I asked him to do me a favor and run up to the stor for something I forgot for dinner. All I managed to get out was "could you go up to the store," before he cut me off and said "I don't have any money so unless you are going to pay for it, no, I can't go to the store for you."

 

I told him to stop jumping on me like that and give me a few minutes to get out what I was trying to say. He just looked at me and walked away.

 

So I went over to him and told him that he doesn't like it when he feels like people are cutting him off or steamrolling what he has to say. What the heck makes him think it is acceptable to do that to me? I have a problem getting words out quickly and sometimes rely on gestures. He can be patient and polite the way he wants people to treat him, who is perfectly normal and has not had a stroke, or I can just stop trying to do anything in the house and let him take care of it all, since I don't seem to be allowed to finish a complete thought that might affect something about or for him.

 

He said he was sorry. I said thank you and then told him the whole thought I had been trying to get out, including that I was sending him to the store with my credit card. Made him feel a little bit like a heel.

 

But I've gotten off topic. Thanks for sharing. The more I hear from other people about their experiences and how they handled things, hte more I feel ike I can handle myself just as well. It keeps me interested in trying.

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Phil: as i wrote to you a few days ago, Bruce sometimes wants to put more into a simple yes-no question. This is his nature. I try to go by Speech Therapist's strategies. Give him five full minutes, if he can't get it-move on. We go to one fast food drive in-Mickey D's. Yet, every single time Bruce says he needs to look at the menu. Trust me, if we are there, we are in a hurry and have lots to do before home. I rarely schedule like this-God knows I have time, but some days it just happens. If they change the outside menu at all, we could hold up the line for an hour.

 

You and Lydia please try to understand that we caregivers are just doing the best we can. We know we say and do things that are not always sensitive to you, but we really do mean well. Bruce, like both of you, really tries to keep the requests down to a minimum and I certainly appreciate that. Please bear with us. Debbie

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When you get a chance! I told my wife just add that on to whatever I have to say FROM NOW on. She

 

gets so mad at me when she didn't even give me a chance to finish. Another thing I hate is when

 

people finish my sentences. They are usually wrong! Before I get a chance to complete my sentence,

 

they have already blurted what they thought I was GONNA say. By then, I have lost my thought and I

 

say "Forget it" in frustration. I hate that. I used to have a therapist who did that. I had to tell the other

 

girl to mention it to her. I couldn't mention that to her because she wouldn't let me ever finish a

 

sentence.

 

And Deb, I'm gonna have to report this to CallmeRachel, you're going to McDonalds.....heeheehee

 

-phildogg

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Phil: the dirtydogg. She already knows so there.

 

It is very difficult not to want to jump in and help someone. People see him get so frustrated, it is second nature. But by working with Speech and me passing along the strategies, we are working this out. His friends know when he says "what's the agenda" he means what has been gong on and new phrases that he has developed that are now new-normal. Usually now I just wait the few minutes, if he still can't get there, I start with his strategies based on what I think the subject may be. Mind you after 26 years together I am still 50-50.

 

If we get into an uncomfortable social situation and I keep these to a minimum, mostly he defers to me. We are usually with family or friends and they all know how to guide him. His friend from his past job plans Happy Hour for him. He gets to see all the old people he worked with for 20 years, but Debi keeps him right next to her and monitors. His co-planner does the toilet run and helps Debi get him in and out of her truck.

 

The thing that frustrates me the most is he goes two, three days right on. And then we have a fall back day. Usually when he is tired, but also it is just what I call a bad day. Today, for instance, he forgot why he was in the kitchen-to make breakfast-and everything was laid out in its normal place for him to do his breakfast.

 

Keep working at it, that is all the advice I can give. Why not try a sweatshirt that says "Just give me a minute". Debbie

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Deb,

 

Thanks for understanding what we, suffering from the inability to get out what we want. I used the same strategy with my wife. I used the hand wave when I want her to take over and explain or talk for me. For example, we were at Church yesterday for mass. And they re-created the washing of Jesus' feet for the last supper. (I couldn't participate cuz my feet are ugly). They continued with the mass and after the mass, people we haven't seen in while came up to see what happened to me. I deferred the explaining part to my wife. I don't talk with much volume and often have to repeat myself. With my wife taking over the explaining part, I only have to participate only minimally. Less explaining and less repeating. It's getting better. We had some friends over Wednesday who we haven't seen in six months. And they said, "You're talking better that last time." So, that was encouraging to me.

 

-phildogg

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Thanks to all of you for the shared experiences and advice. I'm really a little nervous about all of this because, tonight, I am giving a homily on one of the "7 Last Words or Jesus" for the Good Friday service at church. It will be the first time I have done a reading or a homily since my stroke. Frankly, I'm having a little bit of a problem with that whole "performance anxiety" thing. I'm afraid of making a "mistake," like losing my train of thought, forgetting what I was saying, not having a word for what I want/need to say, or using the wrong word for something.

 

At least I am speaking to a small group of teh people I go to church with, who were at my wedding, my confirmation, and came to visit me in hospital and/or once I came home.

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Lydia,

 

Take deep breaths and calm down. If you have to resort to the old trick, try this, imagine everybody in the room is naked. That'll calm anyone down.........including yourself.

No one will notice if you make a mistake. You'll do fine!

Buena Suerte!

 

-phildogg

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Yes, I know, many of you consider McD's menu real food.

 

I read your taunts, grimly, without smile.

 

I like you, I want you to live

 

and live well.

 

That isn't going to happen if you

 

live on trans-fat, vitamin and mineral deficient, hormone-loaded hamburgers and fat-full fries.

 

Endless research studies (and for Pete's sake, look around you!)

 

It is plain hard truth, people who eat like that suffer many ills, many physical discomforts,

 

and they cry, they thrash, they war with the bleak horrible ends to their lives.

 

Good Grief, even the Federal Government is trying to tell you

 

that fast foods are not good for you...

 

How crazy that you make fun of people who are trying to help you,

 

how blind can you be that you are

 

sabotaging your well-being by

 

giving in to instant, cheap, foodie-gratification...

 

Rachel

 

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This is StrokeNet, a gracious and generous support network

 

to help people feel better, be better,

 

to help stroke survivors make new, better choices

 

in their recovery

 

AND

 

to help caregivers care better

 

and care for themselves better.

 

To those who

 

shrug off research,

 

To those who camouflage their

 

resistance with

 

pot-shots ---

 

Hey, what are you trying to do?

 

Convince people that hot dogs and

 

chips will make their aphasia go away?

 

What are you saying --

 

that diet and exercise have nothing

 

to do with the health of stroke survivors and caregivers?

 

Okay, present your research, bring it on.

 

Prove to me and others who are reading this that food choices and lifestyle decisions

 

have nothing to do with health. You prove it, I'll convert.

 

Until then, I'll keep fighting for broccoli.

 

 

Rachel

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Rachel: you know better. You have been advising all of us on the need for a healthy diet all along. You offer us recipes, supplements. My first reaction to almost any diet question is Rachel will be able to help you better here. Either post or message her. I know what you offer us and have from day one, been your biggest fan.

 

I took Bruce home on a diet based mainly on portion control. He had lost over 30 lbs from the Stroke and I needed help keeping him there. Who was the first to step up? Who do I still continue to go to?

 

You know our Caregiver days, you live them. Every once in a while, I have to do a fast food run. I do not apologize for it. I spend all day Sunday prepping meals for the entire week, especially when I am at work. Leo will cook, but the girls are warm-up queens. That is my life. I will not give up my caregivers who have been on board from day one because they can not function in a kitchen. And you have helped that, without even knowing. They look at what I have prepped and often ask about it. If you are teaching yet others, who is better than you? They do not have the back up of order out pizza just because Debbie was busy that day.

 

Between Phil and I that was a joke. You have been involved in many discussions with both of us and I always thought there was always an air of levity. Having some fun and learning at the same time.

 

I am sorry if I offended you. I certainly never had that intent. You are my go-to girl and you know that. Best, Debbie

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Debbie, you have never offended me.

 

You are too golden-hearted to offend anyone.

 

I agree. There are days when

 

a caregiver is so RUSHED and so POOPED

 

that the only food that is going to happen

 

is FAST AND EASY.

 

But no one, stroke survivor or heroic caregiver

 

can live well on fat-heavy, or sugar-heavy junk food for days.

 

Carrots are your friend.

 

And so am I,

Rachel

 

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  • 4 months later...

We have gotten off the topic here. lol

Carl has aphasia what kind doctors never said. But, he has all the problems you have described.

Being that I also am a survivor, and now Carl's caregiver I also had speech problems for the first 3 days.

Plus when I was 12 years old I had a goiter taken out that was wrapped around my voice box.

When I awoke from surgery my parents were standing over my bed, I went to speak and nothing came out.

When the goiter was removed my voice box was scraped. I was not told before surgery that I will not

have a voice when I wake up. All I could do is cry.

So, in telling this story of me I do have personal experience.

Carl has improved and is still improving. I have totally backed off from answering for him. I have had to come out of my shell and talk a lot for him. Thank you I'm done, returning back to my shell. lol

Carl always like to talk and be around people, so as a caregiver I returned him back to the same settings after his stroke. Our new church and farm all the people know Carl has aphasia. People know to ask questions is they do not understand him.

My belief is it is a caregiver of an aphasia survivor when in a social setting to inform people what has happen to the person and what their part is in his rehab.

Carl has started replying to emails finally. He has a dictionary on his side table. It's been months since Carl asked me how to spell a word. On my computer I check his mail (he doesn't know it) and see how is writing is going and spelling. It's ok I have to report.

I have been understanding of Carl's aphasia but what really bugs me is he has no form a speaking in a sentence.

He leaves out all the if, whats, the, a, . he still has the quick response of Yes for NO and No for Yes. So my next effort will get him to use the computer to read to him. He needs help on rhythm. I do read to him but I myself do not have good rhythm when I read.

I applaud you all it's one thing to over come the deficits of stroke but getting a double bullet not being able to express yourself.

Someone told me once when I wanted to learn Spanish: emerc yourself in the language.

Jeanniebean :cocktail:

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  • 6 months later...

I don't have aphasia, but I do have "dysarthria",meaning that I don't speak clearly. About the best way that I can explain it is to say that I sound like I am talking with a mouthful of marbles. I am rarely understood the first time around, but have to repeat what I said 2 to 4x before the person understands what I said. But, I have found that if someone listens to me just a few minutes, they get to where they understand me, and/or realize that I don't mind repeating or re-phrasing what I said. I have experienced alot of the same things that I'm sure many aphasics have experienced: I have been amazed by the number of people who won't take the time to listen. I have also been amazed by the number of times, after hearing me speak, that people have concluded that I am mentally handicapped . Amazing. Simply amazing

Lydi, What about flash card pictures? Maybe Logan would like to make you flash cards. All he has to do is to go thru magazines,cut out pictures of common objects like a chair, table, ball,etc., afix it to a large-size index card,, and on the back (the side with lines), either write the name of the object, or write the name of the object and 4 mutiple - choice questions about what it is.Alyce, you can make them yourself if you think they may help, or draft a relative. Lydi, how did your hominy go? Best,Becky

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  • 1 month later...

Wow, I am so glad I have come back to this website. Thank you everyone for your experiences. I have been feeling like I am just gonna lose my mind. I will be back to post more about me, now I just have to digest all that I have read here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I eas never told i had aphasia i was prety much meicked out of the hospital due to no insurance in less then a week i was ok so go i had to walk with a walker And did recived a few visits from a phsical thereapist. And a speech thereapist but nione said it was aphasia.

My speech has to come slow if i try to talk fast like normal its one big jumble i inderstand. Ut othere dont i live eith my brother and he understands most of the time but i still stump

Him on certain words snd i have to repete it slowly. Ive done better latly with others where i may also use gestures as i talk but o. The phone can be a problem.

I still get lost on a word somtime or a diferent word ome out rather then what i meant. Like the other day i said chalk when i meant crayon

I sound as i would have thought before when i was ignorant that the person isnt all there

It will be 3 years ome october so yes its my new norm.

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