Living with a communication disorder is hard work

Communication is a part of our daily life, it’s unavoidable. Telling someone that you love them, answering the phone, writing the shopping list, reading the paper, or listening to a conversation all require some form of communication. If you have aphasia, you may find one or all of these tasks challenging to complete, and that can leave you feeling isolated, incompetent, and in some cases depressed.

Therapy with a Speech Pathologist, home exercises and aphasia groups are all really important parts of aphasia recovery; however it’s the time between your therapy sessions that counts the most. My top three tips for aphasia recovery are: increasing you talk time, keeping it real, and finding yourself a supportive communication partner.

Increase your ‘talk time’

Talk time is really what it sounds like; the amount of time that you spend talking. You can’t expect to get better at talking unless you’re talking. Join a coffee club, phone an old friend, walk the dog and say “Good morning” to everyone you meet, pop over to the neighbours, or ask the shop assistant how their day is going. 

Keeping it real

I’m a big fan of communication practise that reflects real life. There is a place for reading aloud lists of words or naming pictures but this isn’t ‘real’, you wouldn’t have done this before your stroke. If you read the newspaper every morning before your stroke, try looking at the photos, picking out familiar words from the headlines or getting someone to help you sound out the words; this type of practise will help you achieve your reading goal much quicker.

Find a supportive communication partner

The supportive communication partner listens; they give you time to formulate a response; they ask you questions; they help you out if you get stuck, and they value what you’ve got to say. Finding a supportive communication partner isn’t easy for everyone. Think outside the square; a close friend, your neighbour, a family member or a fellow stroke survivor could be that non-judgemental, patient communication partner that you’ve been looking for.

Contact us on StrokeLine (18000 787 653) if you’d like some help with increasing your talk time, setting aphasia goals, or finding your supportive communication partner.

Alana Saunders

Speech Pathologist for StrokeLine