How to Help Stroke Patients With Speech at Home

Approximately 780,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke every year in the United States, according to the American Heart Association; this amounts to roughly one stroke every 40 seconds. However, the rate of deaths caused by stroke fell 24.2 percent from 1994 to 2004. This means that many stroke victims return home and, with the help of home therapy, lead productive lives.

Instructions

• 1

  Explore the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment is a program that originally was designed to help patients with Parkinson's disease who have trouble speaking slowly, clearly and loudly. However, a recent study to be published in Brain Injury and the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders found that the treatment can improve the speech of certain survivors of stroke, especially those who suffer from dysarthria, a disorder that affects nearly 30 percent of stroke survivors. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment can be administered at home. It is available as a DVD and can be purchased at the link below.

• 2

  Consider medications. Some medications have been found to be helpful to people who have speech problems after a stroke. Talk to your doctor about whether one of these medications would be appropriate.

• 3

  Read aloud to the stroke survivor. According to the American Stroke Association, reading aloud to a stroke survivor can help improve her communication skills.

• 4

  Encourage the stroke survivor to read books paired with matching audiotapes. According to the American Stroke Association, reading (silently or aloud) while listening to the words of a book can improve speech skills after a stroke.

• 5

  Recruit a volunteer. Because working on speech at home can be emotional and frustrating, it is not always best for stroke survivors to work on their speech with a family member. Sometimes it can be beneficial to recruit a volunteer who can help divide the time. You might be able to find a volunteer at a local volunteer organization, church or school.