You may be surprised at how speech changes if you or a family member has a stroke. An interruption to the blood supply of the brain causes stroke, as does blood flooding your brain cells, when a blood vessel bursts. The affected brain cells die, leading to numbness or weakness in your limbs, dizziness, headaches or visual disturbance, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Around one-third of stroke victims find they have difficulty with communication.
Identification
Problems with speech, called aphasia, affect about one million people in the United states, according to the National Stroke Association. You may have problems with understanding speech, or with producing words, or both. You may also find it hard to make speech sounds correctly, a condition known as dysarthria.
Characteristics
The severity of communication difficulties varies. Severe global aphasia may prevent you from understanding or using any speech at all, or you may use only common phrases, such as "thanks." Occasionally, stroke victims confuse "yes" and "no." If you have milder aphasia you may be able to carry on a conversation, but you will become tired quickly. You may find it hard to choose the exact word you want or to use social communication skills and nonverbal language.
Planning Treatment
Treatment depends on accurate diagnosis of your difficulties. A speech and language therapist, contacted through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or a neuropsychologist, can help. He may suggest activities for you to carry out in order to help your recovery and maximize the abilities you retain. He can show you how other changes to your skills, such as memory, hearing and vision, also affect your speech.
Basic Communication
In the early days after a stroke, doctors, nurses, therapists and family members can help you find ways of communicating your needs while initial brain recovery takes place. You may find you can point to pictures, or symbols on a chart, although you cannot say the words. Use gestures where you can. You may want to make a hand signal, such as a "thumbs-up" sign, and also point to a written "yes" or a "tick" symbol, to avoid confusion.
Therapy Exercises
Later, during rehabilitation, try exercises designed by professionals to help your brain find new pathways between neurons. These could include practice in putting sentences together, finding ways to retrieve the word you need from your memory, and practicing repetitive movements of tongue, lips and cheeks, to improve your articulation of words.
Living with Speech Difficulties
You may find it helps to continue to use props in your daily life, perhaps drawing or pointing to pictures or using electronic communication systems. Show your friends and family what helps you, and take your time with communication. Some stroke victims find it helpful to join a group of fellow-sufferers, to practice skills together.
