Voice recovery options for post-stroke survivors with communication problems.
Before we get into the recovery options available for the abovementioned problem, we must first know what a stroke is.
What is a stroke? A stroke happens when the supply of blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clotted or burst artery. This interruption causes the insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain, thus starving and killing some of the brain cells. Body parts and mental functions which are controlled by those brain cells no longer have the ability to properly function after that. Along with the muscle weakness, a stroke causes the following: • • • • • •
Speech and language problems Cognitive challenges Swallowing difficulties Sensory impairments Emotional complications Communication problems
Communication problems after stroke(s) are very common. Around, a one-third of the post-stroke survivors face problems with speaking, writing, reading, and understanding what other people say to them.
Why do those problems occur? While communicating, our brain has to complete a series of tasks. Different parts of our brain are responsible for these tasks. If anyone of these parts gets damaged by a stoke, it can create communication problems may occur.
What kind of communication problem people have?
The aphasia is a common issue after stroke and a third of post-stroke survivors are affected by it. Aphasia affects the ability to understand what others say. It can also affect the ability to read and write. It occurs when you are no longer able to understand others and lose the ability to speak. Dysphagia happens when you're not able to control muscles in the mouth, face, and throat, so it becomes hard to speak out clearly. Apraxia of speech is when you are not able to move all the muscles in mouth, face, and throat in the order to speak. This can make it very difficult for you to speak as well as for others to understand. Most of these communication problems do so signs of improvement, but it's difficult to predict the level of improvement or how long it will take, as the improvement rate for everyone may vary.
Are there treatments that can help? There is an alternative form of speech therapy that can help you achieve proper speech improvement. This form of speech therapy (known as the Vocal Science™ Method) aims to help you to not only improve your ability to vocally communicate with others, it is also designed to improve the quality of your speaking voice. At The Royans Institute for Non-Surgical Voice Repair, our voice repair specialist provides you with specialized individual sessions of voice restoration for throat cancer survivors and post-stroke survivors. If you’re a friend or family member of someone who has had a stroke, this article will help someone with communication problems while, at the same time, offering information and tips which can serve as a good source to help you out.