What is a Stroke?

There are three different types of strokes:

• Ischemic stroke – occurs when the arteries that lead to your brain are blocked or narrowed, preventing blood from reaching the brain

• Hemorrhagic stroke – caused by a leaking or ruptured blood vessel in your brain, which damages brain tissue, preventing the flow of blood and oxygen

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA) – also known as a mini-stroke, is a temporary decrease in the brain’s blood supply and does not cause lasting damage

 

At Speech Therapy and Beyond, our speech therapists assess all aspects of communication that can be impacted by stroke, including:

• Difficulty understanding what has been said (Receptive Aphasia)

• Difficulty using words and sentences to express what they want to say (Expressive Aphasia)

• Difficulty thinking of the words they want to use (Word-Finding difficulties)

• Reading difficulties (Dyslexia) and writing difficulties (Dysgraphia)

• Muscle weakness which may make speech slurred or difficult to understand (Dysarthria)

• Difficulty with moving the muscles in the correct sequence to speak clearly (Apraxia)

 

Speech Therapy and Beyond, will work with each individual on their personal communication goals, and will help to improve a stroke patient’s ability to understand or produce language. Our speech therapists will work on specific drills and strategies, such as word retrieval and conversational skills. Role playing is extremely effective in re-teaching social skills which require both word retrieval and conversation. There are many different approaches including intensive therapy, online therapy and therapy programs that can be done at home and reviewed and updated regularly by the therapist. We are also able to assess and advise on communication aids and assistive technology to minimize the impact of communication difficulties following a stroke.

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