Speaking After a Stroke

Each year nearly 800,000 people experience a stroke. Rehabilitation is often recommended for patients recovering from a stroke, but health experts say patients often require speech therapy as well to help them relearn how to speak, even swallow.

Leslie Roth, a speech therapist for Lee Memorial Health System, says the lasting results from a stroke can be life changing. “One day you’re on the golf course, or you’re driving a car, or you’re swimming at the pool, the next day boom your life completely turns upside down.”

Roth says speech therapy plays an important role in helping patients relearn how to communicate. “One of the main things that I work on is when the patient has aphasia. Aphasia is a language disorder as a result of a stroke or a traumatic brain injury.”

She says after a stroke, a patient may have difficulty speaking or remembering words, even though they know what they are trying to say. Depending on the severity of the stroke, the patient may even have problems understanding what people are saying. “What I tap into is what are they able to do? How can they communicate? Even if it’s in a word, a sound, pointing to a picture, we start there.”

It can be very frustrating for patients, but she says the brain is very resilient. Every stroke is different. With constant therapy and patience, patients can have tremendous outcomes. “Every single day, a little bit of something does make a difference.” She says without therapy and practice, a patient’s communications skills typically won’t improve.

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

[waltermoore]

Knowledge of tools to deal with are critical

[jojoboyish]

this really got me through tough times

[bigboomer]

Yesterday my aunts told me that their grandfather had a stroke and can not speak after that. I don't think he ever got therapy. Anyways she told me that his own nephews make fun of him and mocks him whenever he tries to scold him. All he could say is "coo coo coo" so just imagine getting shouted at with a bunch of coos. It sucks because like, he's being serious but the nephew is a jerk and mocks his speech and makes him even more angry resulting in the nephew to make fun of him more. Its sad

[SuperLuckao]

That's incredibly cruel. I'd get an order out against him to have no contact. My 47yr old bed had stroke last week, 2 days before his birthday. He cannot speak. I'm in another continent so I believe he can only move his feet and fingers too. I don't know any family to contact and I'm not next of kin also it's hard to get info. I send him encourage f messages daily in messenger. We spoke for 8 years there, every day. Now we cannot. He is the only person I trust and I only talked to him, and he m e. In very worried about his mental health.

[chiropracticbohol]

After a stroke, we will start the patient's brain regeneration process in 7-14 days. International Institute of Quantum Genetics.

[Charmander-wytp]

I wished I learned the a couple years ago my grandma can’t speak all she can say is me eat but in Vietnamese I really want her to speak normally again and I can tell she gets frustrated because she can’t speak but most of our family also get frustrated when we can’t understand what she is saying

[baran]

Anytips I trying to learn again to talk