People often have trouble communicating after a stroke. Brain damage often interferes with speech comprehension, facial muscle control, or cognitive processing, making it difficult to express and connect with loved ones. Richmond University Medical Center helps patients overcome these challenges with speech therapy for individuals who have suffered a stroke. Located in Staten Island, New York, our services can help patients enhance their communication abilities after strokes and reconnect with the people they love most.
What Is a Stroke?
A stroke occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen to function and support itself. It may occur due to a blood blockage or clot (ischemic stroke), or it may occur because of sudden bleeding into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). Deprived of nutrients and damaged by pressure created by the blood, brain cells begin to die off rapidly until the patient is treated by a stroke care center.
Even nonfatal strokes can cause significant brain damage. Minor strokes may create temporary problems that go away with time and treatment. Major strokes often result in long-term disability that permanently impacts the patient’s quality of life. Immediate and focused stroke rehabilitation is essential to help the patient manage their symptoms and live a fulfilling life after suffering a stroke.
Effects of Stroke on Speech
Strokes very often affect the way patients communicate. The exact impact depends on which part or parts of the brain were affected by the stroke. No two patients are affected in the same way. The types of speech problems associated with strokes include:
Aphasia
Aphasia refers to difficulty with understanding and using language. Patients may have a hard time comprehending what other people tell them, or they may struggle to express themselves using words. They may also face difficulties with reading and writing. Aphasia is a very common consequence of stroke, affecting around one in three patients, and affects everyone in unique ways.
Dysarthria
Dysarthria refers to difficulty speaking due to lost control or sensation in the facial muscles. When patients cannot move their face, mouth, or throat well, they find it difficult to speak clearly. Their voice may become slurred, garbled, or slow, or they may speak extremely quietly. While they understand language well, they may be difficult for other people to understand.
Verbal Apraxia
Verbal apraxia refers to an inability to control facial muscles voluntarily. While the face, mouth, and throat may not be paralyzed or numb, the patient can not make the movement patterns necessary to enunciate words. They may have a hard time making the desired vocal sound, or they may struggle to use the correct rhythm or speed when speaking.
Cognitive Decline
Stroke can also cause cognitive decline in other areas, including problem-solving, attention span, and behavior inhibition. This can leave patients feeling confused or easily distracted, which may introduce additional difficulties when it comes to understanding or expressing themselves to others.
The Value of Speech Therapy
Speech problems are about more than sounds and words. When stroke survivors cannot understand others or express themselves adequately, they may feel frustrated. It can also impact relationships when loved ones can no longer hold conversations or share their appreciation for one another. This further isolates the person at a time when they most need support from the ones they love most.
By teaching individuals how to speak and understand language again, speech therapy and rehabilitation help them reconnect with the world around them. They can process situations, discuss favorite activities and topics, request assistance when they need it, and tell family members how much they care. This makes speech therapy an important part of stroke rehabilitation and recovery, by helping patients return to a normal, fulfilling life after a stroke.
Speech Therapy for Stroke in Staten Island, NY
Speech therapy, also known as speech-language pathology, is a specialized field that focuses on identifying and treating disorders that affect speech and language comprehension. Speech therapy specialists begin by evaluating the patient’s unique condition, including their specific speech disorders, how those manifest, and other health or circumstance factors that may impact treatment.
Specialists then devise a personalized treatment plan to help the patient improve their communication ability. They often work closely with patients and their families to determine goals for treatment and then identify the best methods for achieving those goals. Common methods include:
- Muscle exercises: Speech therapists demonstrate facial exercises to rebuild muscle strength, mobility, and control. Harder exercises may be introduced as the patient improves.
- Sound repetition: If the patient struggles to form the sounds they want, repeating sounds over and over can train correct habits and rebuild muscle memory.
- Rhythm training: The use of a metronome or finger snapping can help patients keep time while practicing the correct rhythm or speed for speech.
- Picture matching: Therapists show pictures to be matched with words or descriptions, helping the patient practice speech comprehension and accessing the right words.
- Compensating techniques: Patients explore other ways to communicate, such as writing on a notepad or using a text-to-speech device, to overcome difficulties.
- Family training: Therapists train family members in communication strategies they can use to help their loved one with aphasia understand them better.
With time and hard work, most communication problems do improve. Problems are typically worse in the first few weeks and improve over the first three to six months. They continue to improve for months or even years afterward. Though it is difficult to predict how much a patient will recover, there are many ways to communicate and adapt. Most stroke survivors live full, productive lives even if they still have trouble speaking.
Improve Communication With Speech Therapy in Staten Island, NY
Communication difficulties are a common complication after surviving a stroke. Fortunately, speech therapy can help patients recover their speech ability and learn how to compensate for lingering problems. Richmond University Medical Center delivers speech therapy after stroke for patients at our Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in Staten Island, NY, area. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our compassionate physicians or to ask questions about stroke and speech therapy.
