Can anyone help with this?

I received this email today.  Can anyone help with some suggestions?

My 46 year old daughter suffered three strokes this year, and now has aphasia.  She has shown some improvement from therapy, but has significant brain damage, and I wondered if you might have suggestions for tools we might use to help her recapture some of her lost vocabulary.  Singing is one approach that has helped her find a word when she couldn’t find it by speaking.

Please leave any ideas in the comments section below or email me at jane.hart@c4lpt.co.uk.  Many thanks

Comments

[Karen Brooks]

Don't know if this will help, but Princeton University has an project on this and these are the links that include basic information to assistive technology devices.

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/aphasia/links.html

[Gary Woodill]

Hi Jane,

Two suggestions:

A product called MossTalk - http://www.mosstalkwords.com/index.html

If you put "aphasia" AND "vocabulary" AND "therapy" into the PsychInfo Database (available through a university library) you will find over 30 articles in the past five years. These will give direction on what types of therapies are available for this condition.

Hope that helps.

Gary

Gary Woodill, Ed.D.
Director of Research and Analysis
Brandon Hall Research

[Jane Hart]

Thanks Gary and Karen, I will pass on the information

[Hans de Zwart]

There won't be any direct/concrete advise in it, but The Brain That Changes Itself is full of amazing recoveries of stroke victims and could be a starting point to a lot of helpful research, contacts and activities...

[Jane Hart]

Thanks, Hans - a valuable contibution.

[merck]

I'm not a speech therapist but have used Rosetta Stone. Part of the program includes an option to repeat the word being learned using a recording and visual feedback to help improve enunciation.

I learned Japanese this way over the summer. You do need headphones connected to the computer so that may be a consideration for your friend's daughter.

Basically, it works like this: You hear the word, repeat it, hear yourself saying word while seeing the visual feedback. You can repeat the process for that word as many times as you like. It sounds boring but it's fun.

Now I know how to say newspaper in Japanese impeccably. Ok and some other stuff, too!

[fcarb]

Hi,

Smart.fm, a vocabulary training website is pretty state of the art. You'd have to test it out to know what I mean. But in a nutshell, automatic dictionaries, Leitner algorithms, and customizable word lists, for starters.

Your first impression might be "Oh, this is a website for language learners", but if you look beyond the obvious intended target, I'm sure you'll see how you could tailor the web application for your needs.

I hope this helps.

[Jane Hart]

merck and fcarb - thanks for your practical suggestions

[twitter.com/teromakotero]

I teach students with autistic spectrum disorders and I do a lot of work with children with no or very little speech. My close relative has also aphasia as a result of stroke and I have been closely involved in her rehabilitation process.

Because the brain must be re-organized, it is important to do exercises regularly on a daily basis. It would be good if the words you are going to use in exercises are the ones you use normally preferably on a daily basis. For example, the kitchen and dining related words. Repetition is important! Rehabilitation can take a long time, so perseverance is required.

I read last summer Norman Doige's book "The Brain that Changes Itself", that was earlier mentioned in this conversation and I recommend it warmly.

Of course we must not forget speech therapy as one of the most important means of aphasia rehabilitation. Additional exercises should be planned with speech therapist to get the best results.

[Jane Hart]

Tero, thanks for your valuable advice

[Jena H. Casbon, MS CCC-SLP]

Jane,

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist have second the idea to use Rosetta Stone. It is expensive software, but the newest version is amazing. I would suggest doing a 30 day trial and having your daughter try it out.

My second suggestion is to check out my website, www.CognitiveRehabTherapy.com. I update the site weekly with ideas for therapy that I do with patients at the rehabilitation hospital where I work. You might be able to find some practical suggestions to try.

Good luck!
Jena

[Jane Hart]

Jena, thanks, I will pass it onto the lady in question, whose daughter has had the stroke