For a certain period of time after a stroke, the patient experiences difficulty with speech. But for completeness of perception of the surrounding world, as well as mental health, the return of speech communication skills is a leading problem. The ability to speak should be restored as soon as possible.
Some patients go through the rehabilitation period at a very fast pace. They have enough months and even weeks. Others require lengthy work with a speech therapist so that through regular classes, they will return to their ability to communicate with people around them. It happens that speech is not fully restored and remains limited.
How to recover speech after a stroke? What do we have to do? Answers to questions will be given in this article.
How to recover speech after a stroke?
It should be noted that such a process is not simple. Stem cells are widely used in modern medicine in this area. In addition, the restoration of nerve impulses takes place during classes with a speech therapist.
Stem cell application
Is it possible to restore speech after a stroke through 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 maximum effectiveness if it was applied in the first days after a stroke.
How to restore speech after a stem cell stroke? This procedure is performed with outpatient treatment. Two procedures are required, between which there should be a three-month rest. Treatment begins with vascular repair. Procedures are being taken to eliminate ischemia, atherosclerosis and thrombosis, cramps are eliminated.
Vessels acquire elasticity, the thickness of their walls and the channels themselves are optimized. In those areas where the vessel was plugged and torn, new collateral pathways begin to form.
Speech after a stroke
The timing of restoration of speech function is closely related to the area of damage to nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, which are responsible for speech. The more extensive the damage to the brain, the more slowly the ability to speak is restored. If there is still hope for a year to regain lost speech, then over time the pace of rehabilitation slows down.
The body of a person who has suffered a stroke, gradually adapts to the remaining defects in speech. Therefore, the people around must 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 should communicate more, take part in various discussions, and perform exercises of a simple nature.
Types of speech impairment after a stroke
Any type of speech disorder after a stroke can be gradually eliminated. In order for the rehabilitation to proceed successfully and quickly, you should understand the specifics of the defect and choose the correct 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 extremely difficult for a person to pronounce words on their own 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 subject to his control. The reading skill is not lost, but for the patient the meaning of the writing is incomprehensible. The ability to write words is completely absent.
As a result of a stroke of a patient's speech, confusion is inherent. 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, because the correct pronunciation and selection of the right words has been lost. The patient may be aggressive, often crying. His condition is nervous. After a stroke, an adequate perception of the world is lost.
How is speech recovery going?
How to recover speech after ischemic stroke? After stabilization of the patient’s condition, doctors advise to immediately proceed with activities that contribute to the restoration of 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 recover speech after a stroke? Exercises designed specifically for this purpose are widely used by speech therapists. The specialist’s work is based on the phased return of the lost function through various tasks: working with cards, unfolding children's lotto, 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 stubborn efforts of the doctor and patient will yield results.
Basic recommendations for exercises
How to recover speech after a moderate stroke? Recommendations on how to conduct exercises to restore it are clear. The main goal of the classes is to force the cells located in the affected area of the brain to perform lost functions. This is achieved through continuous training. The patient needs to hear live speech. You should constantly communicate with him. This will help him start playing sounds.
As for the pronunciation of whole words, in the case of a complete lack of speaking skills, the patient is invited to pronounce individual sounds and syllables. To this end, a part of a word or phrase is spoken to a person. In this case, the endings do not agree. The patient must pronounce them himself.
A beneficial effect on the development of the ability to reproduce words has a singing. If you sing to the patient and offer 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 the person is able to talk, but due to a strong violation of the innervation of the facial and chewing muscles, they freeze.
Muscle Exercise
How to recover speech after a stroke? Mandatory development of facial muscles is required.
The patient is invited to:
- put your lips in a tube;
- bite your teeth;
- push the tongue forward as much as possible;
- slightly bite the jaws of the upper or lower lip;
- lick your lips with your tongue in both directions.
Speech therapist work
After the patient is examined and the type of aphasia is determined, you should immediately begin classes with a speech therapist. It should be noted that one third of stroke survivors have fully recovered speech at the time of discharge from the hospital. Of course, this is possible if the hospital has a speech therapist who conducts classes with the patient from the first week of his illness.
What is speech therapy?
Speech therapy is a science that deals with the study of speech disorders, the development of ways to overcome and prevent them, and the 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 deficiencies and get to work.
Methods used by speech therapists
From the very beginning, a speech therapist has performed a “thaw” of disturbed speech functions based on previous stereotypes. The doctor checks the patient's reaction to mild irritants, for example, muffled speaking. The work is built on the principle of increasing the level of tasks from easy to complex.
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.
For one person it will be easy to name objects, for another - to maintain dialogue, etc. But you can’t always give easy tasks. Their complexity should grow steadily.
The first lesson 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 can not be offered at the initial stages of treatment?
The initial stages of treatment are of great importance. It is not recommended to suggest working out individual words out of context and connecting sounds. For the restoration of speech by a speech therapist, all conditions must be created so that the patient can support the conversation as quickly as possible.
Singing application
After a stroke, singing will help restore speech more quickly. Classes of a speech therapist with the inclusion of elements of music give positive results. If the patient finds it difficult to finish the sentence that the speech therapist started, then you can offer listening and singing your favorite songs. It is necessary to find out what songs the patient loves and knows. In the process of singing, the words are first pronounced by the patient indistinctly. Gradually, their pronunciation improves. Such a task should take place in a positive atmosphere. It brings pleasure to the patient.
Immediately after the patient can pronounce the words, he should arouse his interest in independent studies. For example, invite him to insert missing letters or prepositions into sentences.
What methods are used for people with sensory aphasia?
Visual aids are used for people with sensory aphasia. The patient is shown a picture that is proposed to be copied, if this allows him to make his condition. Then called the word symbolizing the image. All actions that are conducted 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 do not distinguish words that are close in sound. A suitable exercise is the use of drawings. The patient should show the named item. For example, pairs of consonant words such as "volume - house," "point - kidney," etc., are selected.
Class duration
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. The load on the patient’s speech and hearing apparatus should also be controlled.
The room should be calm, the radio or TV should not be turned on.
The help of a speech therapist in the 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.
Stroke Support
It is very important to maintain an optimistic mood in the patient. The hospital staff, the patient's relatives and the speech therapist should not let a person feel that he is disabled. Otherwise, a person will become isolated and perceive the disease as a sentence. After a stroke, the emotional sensitivity of patients is too high. Affectionate treatment will be in this case the best assistant in restoring lost speaking ability.
Is it possible to conduct independent classes under the guidance of loved ones?
How to restore speech after a stroke at home? Relatives can conduct independent studies only with the permission of a doctor. It is important not to overdo it. Do not overload the patient or give him excessive tasks.
Relatives often lack patience, and they want to achieve the desired result in a short time. Little success in recovery causes them frustration, which is expressed in facial expressions and gestures. The patient, having caught such a reaction from loved ones, loses optimism and may subsequently refuse to undergo treatment. Therefore, in the classroom with a speech therapist, the patient's relatives are not present.
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. It has been proven that patients remember objects better than actions.
When communicating with a person who has had a stroke, it is important to consider that during a parallel conversation of several people, patients and patients do not distinguish 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, sports enthusiasts will be encouraged by the sports program to comment, which will have an effect on the restoration of speech.
Folk remedies
Can folk remedies recover after a stroke? The tried and tested method used by the people is the use of chopped thin slices or grated black radish. It should be kept in the mouth. In this case, a burning sensation and tingling sensation arises in the oral cavity. A compress is also made from radish. It is applied to a damaged facial nerve.
Conclusion
The article examined how to restore speech after a stroke. This process is long and painstaking. It requires the diligence of both the patient and the doctor. Patience, support for loved ones, calm mood and strict adherence to the recommendations of a doctor will help a sick person cope with the disease.