How to Recover Speech After a Stroke

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke every year. Of these individuals, many go on to suffer from aphasia, a disorder that affects your ability to speak. There are various types of aphasia with varying degrees of severity. (See Reference 1.) However, with treatment, many individuals can make a significant recovery.

Instructions

• 1

  Work with a speech language pathologist. Recovering speech after a stroke is a lengthy process that requires consistent therapy. The earlier this therapy begins, the more effective it is. A speech language pathologist will engage you in a host of activities designed to recover your speech. These activities can be as simple as naming the objects found on an index card. Moreover, a speech language pathologist will teach you ways to compensate for your impairments, such as effective gesturing or sign language. (See Reference 1.) Many local colleges and universities offer speech therapy taught by graduate students at a significantly reduced rate. These graduate students are supervised by speech language pathologists who are certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association. (See Reference 3.)

• 2

  Join a stroke support group. There is no substitute for actual communication with real people. By joining a support group, you cannot only practice communicating with real people, but you can communicate with people who are understanding and supportive. (See Resource 1.)

• 3

  Encourage your family to educate themselves. Speech recovery following a stroke can be frustrating for both you and your family. By encouraging your family to educate themselves, you can reduce the amount of stress and concentrate on getting better. The American Speech Language and Hearing Association recommends that family members continue to communicate with stroke survivors, no matter how difficult. Moreover, it is recommended that family members treat the stroke survivor as an adult and not as a child. (See Reference 3.)

• 4

  Have a friend, family member or volunteer read aloud to you. According to the American Stroke Association, being read aloud to may help improve your communication skills. You can further enhance these skills by reading from a book as someone is reading it to you, or by reading a book that is paired with a matching audio tape. As you improve, you can begin to real along silently or out loud. (See Reference 2.)