Speech Therapy After Stroke

byDavid
(Alabama)
Question: Is it normal for speech to be good at one point during the day and then be bad later?

Answer: It is not unusual for speech to deteriorate in a stroke victim during the evening or after they have been up for a while. Just as arm and leg muscles become fatigued so does mouth musculature which can cause speech to become more distorted and difficult to understand later in the day. There can also be mental fatigue which can result in increased speech difficulty. One other factor to look at is medication. Medication could be affecting speech patterns so it is important to recognize if symptoms appear after taking medicine.



Exercises to Improve Speech
by Sultan
(UK)
Question: How do you improve patient's tongue control and speech after stroke? Please tell me some exercises for my mother. Thanks.

Answer: I'm going to refer you to another website for this answer. Please visit speech-therapy-on-video.com for exercises to help with aphasia or http://www.speech-therapy-on-video.com/oralmotor.html for exercises dealing with dysarthria.

In case you don't know what the terms mean, aphasia is a problem with expressing or understanding language and dysarthria is difficulty with controlling mouth and facial movements.



Speech Therapy
by Anita
(Lake, WV)
Question:My mother had a hemorrhagic stroke 1 year ago. She lost her speech and is also paralyzed on her right side. We no longer have therapists to aid us in her recovery. What can I do to help her regain her speech. She occasionally says simple words like, no, yeah, oh lord, or oh god. She has learned to make her needs known in other ways but there are still times when we don't have a clue of what she wants or needs. It is very frustrating for us and her.


Answer: I recommend making or purchasing a communication board with pictures. The pictures would entail her most frequent requests (food, drink, bathroom, pain, etc.) I would search for the phrase "communication board for stroke patient" on one of the search engines for ideas or to find a communication board you can purchase. There are ones out there that are very detailed if your mother is able to point to the pictures. If she is not, then you might work on learning to use a communication board with her.

I also recommend visiting the speech-therapy-on-video.com website mentioned above in Sultan's question. The website has a selection of videos with speech therapy exercises you can practice at home with your mother.