Apraxia and Aphasia How to Help Them Talk

Apraxia and Aphasia How to Help Them Talk

Many people do not truly understand the importance of the speech model when doing apraxia and aphasia speech and language stimulation.  Whomever is helping the person with apraxia or aphasia talk must keep the following rules in mind.

How to Help those with Apraxia and Aphasia Talk

Carers and family members learning how
to help their loved ones talk or talk again.

1. BEFORE YOU STIMULATE SPEAKING YOU MUST KNOW IF THEY CAN IMITATE.  USE THE TEACHING OF TALKING SCREENING TEST TO SEE IF THEY ARE A GOOD CANDIDATE.  Test the vowel, single syllables, multi-syllable words and word pairs.  If they are unable to imitate you must get an epert opinion from a speech therapist familiar with adult neurological speech difficulties.
2. If a person is not talking start with a single syllable word only if they were able to say a single word on the screening test and see if they can imitate it.
3. Make sure your voice is full and easy to hear.
4. If the person with the speaking difficulty is sitting, you sit and face him or her and say the word loudly and clearly.
5. If he person is standing, you stand, face to face, and say the word loudly and clearly.
6. If you get a negative response about your loudness, make your voice slightly softer.
7. Say the word slowly and over emphasize sounds within the word.
8. Prolong the word slowly.
9. When you speak to the person with the brain injury or aphasia speak with full voice and speak ONE-WORD-AT-A-TIME.  If they are only saying a few words ONLY SPEAK WITH THEM IN FEW WORDS, AND SLOWLY!
10. If a person is only speaking in single words, you stimulate only single words at first.  Once they can say any single word after you, then go to 2 word imitation.
11. If the person is speaking an average of 2 words, then you help them say 2 words, until they can do that easily and effortlessly.  Stay with that until you see and hear them start to say 2 word combinations then expand to 3 word phrases.

If you attempt to have a person with aphasia imitate what you are saying, and they don't get it, restimulate them again with the same word. You will know if they can imitate from the screening test on pages 16-20 (Teaching of Talking Learn to Do Expert Speech and Language Stimulation at Home with Children and Adults.) Morgan James Publishing, New York.

These are general guidelines to follow if you are trying to help a person with aphasia talk.  For more detailed instruction see the Teaching of Talking Book or go to teachingoftalking.com and enroll in the Teaching of Talking Video online course where you will learn more about helping those with aphasia or brain injury talk or talk again.

Questions

1.  Should you have any questions you can e mail me at talkwithmark1@gmail.com

Moshe Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP is the author of the Teaching of Talking.  He has been helping those with aphasia talk for the last 44 years.  He published the audio book on audible.com and has produced a video program to help others learn to talk at teachingoftalking.com  He has worked at someof the best rehabilitation hospitals in the United States.