jrry660 Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Hi, wow, 4 years and good progress...that's a long time, but i am sure it was worth it. my mom has aphasia from a severe stroke she got on the left side of her brain. She's taking medication and physical therapy for about 9 months now. She had the stroke in August of 2006. The problem right now with my mom is that she does not say a word! She mumbles and tries to speak, but nothing comes out...is there anything i can do to help her say ONE word? Jerry one more thing, my mom is 53 years old and she is eating only liquid foods..she can't eat solid foods. thx Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanderson Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 hi jerry, why isn't your mom recieving speech therapy, they could help her with both the speaking and swallowing issues. i am also 53 and had my stroke 5yrs ago from a clot. i also had some speaking issues at first but therapy helped me alot and got them resolved. there are alot of others here that have the same problems. or that are caregivers to one with aphasia. i hope your mom shows some improvement soon. kanderson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstockman Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 Hi Jerry and Welcome. I am 4 yrs post stroke. I can talk and swallow, the stroke was on the right side, so my left side was afftected. The only problems I have with speech is loosing the word between my brain and mouth, or saying the wrong word. Sometimes my speech has "pauses". But nothing really significant. Yes speech therapy should help her a great deal. There are quite a few topics on aphasia in the Language Disorders forum. And also in the Blogs.. Jean's journal . Jean is a caregiver to her husband/ survivor of 7 yrs. with severe aphasia. Welcome to the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrry660 Posted May 6, 2007 Author Share Posted May 6, 2007 Hi all, thanks for responding so promptly! Well, we tried speech therapy for my mom, but it was not all that effective...her first therapist gave up in her because she was not tracking and following commands. Now she is a bit better, but not sure if a speech therapist will help....please convince me that a speech therapist will help her based on your experience? By the way, my mom is getting (on a regular basis) a throat and mouth therapist who is helping my mom move her mouth, tongue and so on to help her swallow and eat. I guess, I'm skeptical of a speech therapist because of my mom's severe stroke condition. Is there any type of alternative/aggressive speech therapy available? Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazane Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 Hi Jerry, my husband had a stroke nearly 3 years ago & was left paralyzed on the right side & with aphasia. He was 6 weeks in hospital & had speech therapy, was given notes to bring home & work on but refused to do it as he thought it was stupid!! He talks well now, but with aphasia he cannot get the right word for things all the time eg : clouds are usually Kangaroos & all men were called the same name for a couple of years but he has improved & I know as someone has mentioned that Jean has had good successs with her husband Don who has severe aphasia & has speech therapy on a regular basis. Everyone who has had a stroke is different, but every success should be applauded & always talk to her looking her straight in the eye when you talk to her & make sure that other people do too so you can get her confidence up & have a lot of patience as it takes a long time but you should see improvement no matter how small !! Good Luck, Anne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrry660 Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share Posted May 7, 2007 Hi all, one correction to my posting. My mom IS getting speech therapy and that's kinda the reason why she is able to eat and swallow puried foods. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanderson Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 thats is a good thing jerry,a speech/language pathologist should be able to get her talking again. but it will take time and hard work on your moms part. keep encouraging her along this road to recovery. i hope you see some improvement soon. my best to you both. kanderson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chofvander Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Please don't give up with speech therapy. It will take time but it is worth it. I'm 55 and had a stroke 3 yrs ago. When it happened I could not talk, write, or read. Thru 12 months of intensive therapy and determination I could do all of the above. Not as well as I used to but I recovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arogers Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Wow, I'm impressed. Bill had the stroke leaving him with aphasia in 10/2004. I've got to find some new therapists. He has not regained his ability to read or write. (In fact I just this week became aware that this inability to read and write is PART of aphasia - his speech therapist in rehab wanted that part of rehab to be followed by OT.) His speech therapist really gave up on him in 6/2006, suggesting he be evaluated by the neuropsychologist before proceeding any further with his speech therapy. The neuropsychologist labeled him "severly and profoundly impaired" as a result of his stroke and speech therapy was not suggested. I felt at the time the speech therapist just didn't want to do the work required to get him reading and writing again. Your post, Chovander, sort of supports my suspicions. Bill does surprise me - yesterday we were sitting in a gas station where they also serve Dairy Queen and Subway sandwiches. He'd just gone to the restroom and wanted to sit down before going to the car. I went away for a moment (to buy our weekly supply of lottery tickets :dribble: ) and when I came back he wanted some banana cream pie, saying they served it at the Dairy Queen. I was skeptical, but went up to the Dairy Queen and sure enough there was a sign for a banana cream pie Blizzard! I hadn't even seen the ad until I approached the counter - so I guess he can read some things!!! Maybe that Parrot software I downloaded, then removed because I was so discouraged is something I need to get Bill busy with. Bill's able to verbalize pretty well. He does forget words, or rather they just don't come out unless I prompt him. i.e. this morning he say the word oatmeal, but he said he wanted a bowl of what I'd eaten earlier. He is now asking how to spell certain words, or asking the name of a street he may see on a sign. That's progress, even after 2 1/2 years. I do know that working on this phase of rehab is very, very exhausting to him. He begins yawning almost immediately when I try to get him to use his brain in this way. I've read where that is very true. I think he'd rather it just majically return!! Jerry, I don't know whether this has given you hope or not. I do know Jean is our resident expert. Her husband is enrolled in some pretty intense speech therapy through Western Michigan University and has been for several years. I can't remember about Don's reading and writing abilities, but I do know his vocabulary has been severely impacted by his stroke. There IS hope, even years after a stroke - we just have to remember that as caregivers we should NEVER give up. Good luck to you, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tconnors Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Hi Jerry I had my stroke 2 1/2 years ago. I have Asphasia. Every little bit helps, you tell your mom never to give up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slmstrokeangel Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Ass-phasia! you got that right! I owe much to my speech pathologists - more so than can explain. I attend an aphasia support group run by a therapist as well. I suggest that you look for one in your area and find out the details. God bless you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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