Post by Dawn on Nov 20, 2008 22:13:11 GMT -5
Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by damage to one or more regions of the brain that control language skills. People with aphasia may not be able to express themselves verbally or in writing, or they may not understand spoken or written language.
An estimated 1 million people in the United States have aphasia, and approximately 80,000 people are diagnosed with the disorder each year. The most common brain injury leading to aphasia is stroke.
The primary treatment for aphasia is speech-language therapy that focuses on relearning and practicing language skills and using alternative or complementary communication methods. Family members often participate in the therapy process and function as communication partners of the person with aphasia.
Signs and symptoms
A person with aphasia may:
* Speak in short abbreviated sentences
* Speak in sentences that don't make sense
* Make up words
* Have difficulty finding the right word
* Not comprehend other people's conversation
* Interpret figurative language literally
* Not understand written words
* Write sentences that don't make sense
* Make significant spelling errors
www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00685.html
The communication difficulty caused by aphasia can cause anger and depression. There are also other effects of aphasia, including:
tiring easily
extreme or inappropriate emotions (laughing inappropriately, etc.)
A need for a predictable, unchanging routine.
Feelings of embarrassment or guilt.
Fear of failure
Strategies to help family members cope
Make the survivor feel like a contributing member of the family by involving them in family decisions and in their own recovery.
Give the person time to talk. Don't speak for him/her.
Help them understand you, by speaking more slowly and speaking in short, clear sentences.
Use gestures (e.g., pantomime) to help the person with aphasia understand you.
Communicate through touch.
Sympathize with the frustration your loved one feels at not being able to communicate effectively. Just knowing that you know how they feel helps a lot
Communication Skills
Family members also can help the person with aphasia to develop new skills to compensate for the communication problems. Every interaction with the survivor can be therapeutic
Let'em sweat -
Speech therapy is like exercising at the gym. At the gym, you want to work hard enough to sweat, but not so hard that you injure yourself or fall down.
Independence and Success: A delicate balance
1. Give them some time to come up with the word, or an alternative word. (Sometimes they can become nervous if they feel they are under pressure to perform)
2. Let them write it down, or spell it with letter tiles (form a Scrabble game, or just written on pieces of cardboard or paper.
3. Give them a list of words to choose from.
Tips for ongoing home therapy
1. Continue to talk to the family member with aphasia.
2. Talk to the person as an adult and not as a child.
3. Have appropriate expectations for speech and language but accept attempts at communication through whatever means possible rather than demanding speech. The person with aphasia may be able to communicate successfully using gestures rather than speech or as a supplement to speech.
4. Create therapy momentum. Studies show that, absent consistent therapy, the survivor's language skills will not improve, and in fact they will decline. A taste of success and improvement will likely motivate the survivor to continue working. Likewise, a decline (due to lack of therapy) can leave them frustrated and unwilling to work toward recovery. Remember, therapy can many forms: with a speech therapist, with you, with a computer, etc.
www.aphasia.net/info/aphasia/aphasia_resources.htm
An estimated 1 million people in the United States have aphasia, and approximately 80,000 people are diagnosed with the disorder each year. The most common brain injury leading to aphasia is stroke.
The primary treatment for aphasia is speech-language therapy that focuses on relearning and practicing language skills and using alternative or complementary communication methods. Family members often participate in the therapy process and function as communication partners of the person with aphasia.
Signs and symptoms
A person with aphasia may:
* Speak in short abbreviated sentences
* Speak in sentences that don't make sense
* Make up words
* Have difficulty finding the right word
* Not comprehend other people's conversation
* Interpret figurative language literally
* Not understand written words
* Write sentences that don't make sense
* Make significant spelling errors
www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00685.html
The communication difficulty caused by aphasia can cause anger and depression. There are also other effects of aphasia, including:
tiring easily
extreme or inappropriate emotions (laughing inappropriately, etc.)
A need for a predictable, unchanging routine.
Feelings of embarrassment or guilt.
Fear of failure
Strategies to help family members cope
Make the survivor feel like a contributing member of the family by involving them in family decisions and in their own recovery.
Give the person time to talk. Don't speak for him/her.
Help them understand you, by speaking more slowly and speaking in short, clear sentences.
Use gestures (e.g., pantomime) to help the person with aphasia understand you.
Communicate through touch.
Sympathize with the frustration your loved one feels at not being able to communicate effectively. Just knowing that you know how they feel helps a lot
Communication Skills
Family members also can help the person with aphasia to develop new skills to compensate for the communication problems. Every interaction with the survivor can be therapeutic
Let'em sweat -
Speech therapy is like exercising at the gym. At the gym, you want to work hard enough to sweat, but not so hard that you injure yourself or fall down.
Independence and Success: A delicate balance
1. Give them some time to come up with the word, or an alternative word. (Sometimes they can become nervous if they feel they are under pressure to perform)
2. Let them write it down, or spell it with letter tiles (form a Scrabble game, or just written on pieces of cardboard or paper.
3. Give them a list of words to choose from.
Tips for ongoing home therapy
1. Continue to talk to the family member with aphasia.
2. Talk to the person as an adult and not as a child.
3. Have appropriate expectations for speech and language but accept attempts at communication through whatever means possible rather than demanding speech. The person with aphasia may be able to communicate successfully using gestures rather than speech or as a supplement to speech.
4. Create therapy momentum. Studies show that, absent consistent therapy, the survivor's language skills will not improve, and in fact they will decline. A taste of success and improvement will likely motivate the survivor to continue working. Likewise, a decline (due to lack of therapy) can leave them frustrated and unwilling to work toward recovery. Remember, therapy can many forms: with a speech therapist, with you, with a computer, etc.
www.aphasia.net/info/aphasia/aphasia_resources.htm
