How to Speak to a Stroke Patient

People recovering from a stroke face many challenges, including impaired communication, which is called aphasia. These communication problems can range from mild to severe difficulty speaking, understanding conversations, reading and writing. Three types of aphasia are receptive aphasia, expressive aphasia and dysarthria. Patients with receptive aphasia have problems understanding the spoken and written word. They can speak easily but may not make a lot of sense. Patients with expressive aphasia have problems speaking and writing. Patients with dysarthria speak slowly with great effort and are hard to understand. Although the patient has a communication problem, his ability to think clearly is generally not impaired. Simple steps can open up the lines of communication between you and your patient.

Things You'll Need

• Photos
• Paper

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Instructions

• 1

  Speak slowly and clearly, using simple sentences. Use sentences that require a yes or no answer. Avoid using large words and bombarding the patient with many tasks or directions. Avoid using complex or wordy sentences.

• 2

  Wait for the patient to comprehend your sentence, as well as think of and deliver a response.

• 3

  Encourage your patient to use nonverbal communication such as blinks or nods in response to yes or no questions.

• 4

  Speak to the patient in a quiet area away from noisy or crowded areas.

• 5

  Use props such as photos, gestures or facial expressions to make your conversation flow easier.

• 6

  Draw images on paper to communicate with your patient.

• 7

  If more than one person is in the patient's room, each person should speak one at a time. If several people are talking at once it can be difficult for a stroke survivor to follow the conversation.