For some period of time after a stroke, the patient has difficulty speaking. But for the completeness of perception of the surrounding world, as well as the he alth of the psyche, the return of speech communication skills is the leading problem. The ability to speak should be restored as soon as possible.
Some patients go through the rehabilitation period very quickly. They take several months and even weeks. Others need long-term work with a speech therapist, so that through regular classes, they will regain the ability to communicate with people around them. It happens that speech is never fully restored and remains limited.
How to restore speech after a stroke? What do we have to do? Questions will be answered in this article.
How to restore speech after a stroke?
It should be noted that such a process is not simple. Modern medicine in thisstem cells are widely used. In addition, the restoration of nerve impulses takes place during classes with a speech therapist.
Use of stem cells
Is it possible to restore speech after a stroke using stem cells? Modern medicine proves that with such therapy, the body receives additional mental strength, a person's desire for recovery increases, and his mood improves. This method has the maximum effectiveness if it was applied in the first days after the stroke.
How to restore speech after a stroke with stem cells? This procedure is performed on an outpatient basis. Two procedures are required, between which there must be a three-month rest. Treatment begins with the restoration of blood vessels. Procedures are being carried out to eliminate ischemia, atherosclerosis and thrombosis, spasms are eliminated.
Vessels acquire elasticity, the thickness of their walls and the channels themselves are optimized. In those areas where the vessel was clogged and ruptured, new collateral pathways begin to form.
Speech after a stroke
The timing of the restoration of speech function is closely related to the area of damage to the nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that are responsible for speech. The more extensive the damage to the brain, the slower the ability to speak is restored. If in a year there is still hope to return the lost speech, then over time the pace of rehabilitation slows down.
The body of a person who has had a stroke gradually adapts toremaining defects in speech. Therefore, the surrounding people should show understanding. In no case should the patient be allowed to withdraw into himself and be isolated from people. To restore the lost function, a person must communicate more, take part in various discussions, and perform simple exercises.
Types of speech disorders after a stroke
Any kind of speech disorder after a stroke can be gradually eliminated. In order for rehabilitation to be successful and fast, it is necessary to understand the specifics of the defect and choose the right treatment technique. There are disorders such as sensory and motor aphasia.
With motor aphasia, speech is perceived by the patient by ear and is even understandable to him. However, it is a great difficulty for a person to pronounce words independently or formulate thoughts. The patient has difficulty reading and writing. Most often, these functions are completely lost.
What is sensory aphasia? The patient may mutter something incoherent, speech is not under his control. The reading skill is not lost, but the meaning of what is written is not clear to the patient. The ability to write words is completely absent.
As a result of a stroke, the patient's speech is chaotic. When speaking, he gesticulates intensely, includes expressive facial expressions and many different intonations. A person tries to formulate his thoughts, but he does not succeed, since the correct pronunciation and selection of the right words is lost. The patient may show aggression, often crying. He is in a nervous state. After a stroke, adequateperception of the surrounding world.
How is speech recovery going?
How to restore speech after an ischemic stroke? After stabilization of the patient's condition, doctors advise to immediately begin activities that help restore speaking skills. For the pace of rehabilitation to be fast, a professional speech therapist should work with the patient, but the psychological support of relatives is also extremely important.
How to restore speech after a stroke? Exercises designed specifically for this purpose are widely used by speech therapists. The work of a specialist is based on the gradual return of the lost function through various tasks: working with cards, laying out a children's loto, pronouncing words in syllables and completely. The doctor can teach the patient to compensate for the lack of verbal expression with gestures.
Classes cannot be suspended even if the desired effect is not achieved for a long time. Sooner or later, the hard work of the doctor and the patient will pay off.
Basic recommendations for exercise
How to recover after a moderate stroke speech? Recommendations on how to conduct exercises to restore it are clear. The main goal of the training is to force the cells located in the affected area of the brain to perform their lost functions. This is achieved through constant training. The patient needs to hear live speech. You should constantly communicate with him. This will help him start playingsounds.
As for the pronunciation of whole words, in the case of a complete lack of speaking skills, the patient is asked to pronounce individual sounds and syllables. For this purpose, a part of a word or phrase is said to a person. In this case, the endings do not agree. The patient must say them himself.
Singing has a beneficial effect on the development of the ability to reproduce words. If you sing to the patient and invite him to sing along, then he will restore speech much faster. This method has a high level of efficiency.
It is very important to restore the ability to pronounce sounds. Perhaps a person is able to talk, but due to a strong violation of the innervation of the facial and chewing muscles, they freeze.
Exercise to develop muscles
How to restore speech after a stroke? It is mandatory to develop facial muscles.
The patient is offered:
- puff lips;
- grin your teeth;
- push tongue as far forward as possible;
- bite lightly with the jaws either the upper or the lower lip;
- lick your lips with your tongue in both directions.
The work of a speech therapist
After the patient has been examined and the type of aphasia has been determined, you should immediately begin classes with a speech therapist. It should be noted that in a third of people who have had a stroke, speech is completely restored at the time of discharge from the hospital. Of course, this is possible if the hospital has a speech therapist whoconducts classes with the patient from the first week of his illness.
What is speech therapy?
Speech therapy is a science that studies speech disorders, develops ways to overcome and prevent them, and methods of corrective work. Patients who, even after classes with a doctor, are discharged with severe speech impairment, with subsequent work carried out with regularity, can cope with the shortcomings and start working.
Methods used by speech therapists
From the very beginning, the speech therapist "unfreezes" the disturbed speech functions on the basis of previous stereotypes. The doctor checks the patient's response to mild stimuli, such as muffled speaking. The work is built on the principle of increasing the level of tasks from easy to difficult.
This takes into account the important nuance that the selection of exercises is carried out individually, taking into account the degree of damage to the patient's speech apparatus. The type of aphasia is also taken into account.
It will be easy for one person to name objects, for another it will be easy to maintain a dialogue, etc. But you can’t constantly give easy tasks. Their complexity should steadily increase.
The first session should not be burdensome for the patient. At the beginning of rehabilitation, it is recommended to use material that has emotional significance for the patient. The corresponding semantic load is also selected.
What should not be offered in the early stages of treatment?
Carrying out the initial stages of treatment is of great importance. It is not recommended to offer to work out individual words out of context andconnect sounds. To restore speech by a speech therapist, all conditions must be created so that the patient can keep up the conversation as quickly as possible.
Application of singing
Singing will help restore speech faster after a stroke. Speech therapist classes with the inclusion of elements of music give positive results. If the patient finds it difficult to complete the sentence that the speech therapist began, then you can offer to listen and sing your favorite songs. It is necessary to find out what songs the patient likes and knows. In the process of singing, the words are first pronounced indistinctly by the patient. Gradually, their pronunciation improves. Such a task should proceed in a positive atmosphere. It brings pleasure to the patient.
Immediately after the patient can pronounce the words, he should be interested in self-study. For example, invite him to insert missing letters or prepositions into sentences.
What methods are used for people with sensory aphasia?
Visual materials are used for people with sensory aphasia. The patient is shown a picture that is proposed to be drawn if his condition allows it. Then the word symbolizing the image is called. All actions that are carried out by a speech therapist are accompanied by friendly calm comments: “Let's fix the pillow”, “Please raise your head”, “Now you can put your head on the pillow”. So you can restore speech after a stroke in the presence of sensory aphasia.
Patients with a similar disorder feel baddistinguish words that sound similar. A suitable exercise is the application of drawings. The patient must show the named object. For example, such pairs of consonant words are selected as "tom - house", "point - kidney", etc.
Duration of classes
The duration of classes and the intervals between them depend on the individual capabilities of the patient. The average is 7-15 minutes. After two months, exercises can be carried out for half an hour. You should also keep under control the load of the patient's speech and hearing apparatus.
The room should be quiet, the radio or TV should not be turned on.
Speech therapist help in later stages
If the help of a speech therapist was not provided in the first weeks of the disease, then speech disorders are persistent. And in this case, it is possible to restore the lost function, but an aphasiologist who has his own methods should work with the patient.
Supporting a Stroke Survivor
It is very important to keep the patient optimistic. The hospital staff, the patient's relatives and the speech therapist should not let the person feel that he is disabled. Otherwise, a person will close in on himself and perceive the disease as a sentence. After a stroke, the emotional susceptibility of patients is too high. Affectionate treatment will in this case be the best assistant in restoring the lost ability to speak.
Is it possible to conduct independent studies under the guidance of loved ones?
Howrestore speech after a stroke at home? Relatives can conduct independent classes only with the permission of a doctor. It is important not to overdo it here. Do not overload the patient unnecessarily or give him overwhelming tasks.
Relatives often lack patience and want to achieve the desired result in a short time. Little success in recovery causes them disappointment, which is expressed in facial expressions and gestures. The patient, having caught such a reaction of loved ones, loses optimism and may subsequently refuse to undergo treatment. Therefore, the patient's relatives are not present at the sessions with the speech therapist.
Important Notes
To restore speech and memory after a stroke, it is recommended to persistently force the patient to pronounce the names of surrounding objects. Patients have been shown to remember objects better than actions.
When communicating with a person who has had a stroke, it is important to take into account that during a parallel conversation of several people, patients have difficulty distinguishing sounds and words.
Those who have had a stroke should not watch TV for more than 2 hours a day. Only calm interesting programs should be selected. For example, for sports fans, a sports broadcast will encourage commentary, which will have an impact on speech recovery.
Folk remedies
Can folk remedies restore speech after a stroke? A tried and tested method used by the people is the use of thinly sliced or grated black radish. It should be kept in the mouth. At the same time, inoral cavity there is a burning sensation and tingling. A compress is also made from radish. It is applied to the damaged facial nerve.
Conclusion
The article discussed how to restore speech after a stroke. This process is long and laborious. It requires the diligence of both the patient and the doctor. Patience, support of loved ones, a calm attitude and strict adherence to the doctor's recommendations will help a sick person cope with the disease.
