Aphasia means you may have difficulty with:

• Understanding others:
  • When people talk
  • When you read
• Getting others to understand you:
  • Talking
  • Writing
  • Getting your thoughts out

You may also have difficulty with numbers and calculations.

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Key Points About Aphasia

• People with aphasia:
  • Are still intelligent
  • Know what they want
  • Are competent
  • Can make decisions

You may feel:

• Frustrated
• Lonely

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What Causes Aphasia?

• Aphasia is usually caused by a stroke, head injury, or similar event.
• There is damage in the left side of the brain.
• You may have weakness in the right side of your body.

Recovery

Aphasia can improve in the first few months. Some people will have to learn to live with aphasia.

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Other Things That May Affect Your Speech

• Being tired or “under the weather”
• Feeling in pain or unwell
• Being rushed
• Background noise
• Talking in a group

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What Can I Do?

• Take your time
• Try to be calm and relaxed
• Try new ways of communicating:
  • Point
  • Draw
  • Write
  • Gesture
  • Say the words you can
• Don’t worry if it’s not exactly right; focus on getting your message across

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How Can My Friends and Family Help?

• Make sure they have your attention before speaking
• Keep the atmosphere quiet and free from distractions
• Try to have only one person at a time talking
• Speak in a tone of voice appropriate for an adult
• Communicate one idea at a time
• Give you time to process information
• Write down key words and choices if this helps
• Use visual cues such as gesture, facial expression, and pointing
• Use objects from the environment to help you understand or make choices
• Avoid changing the subject quickly
• Repeat or rephrase if necessary
• Accept any means of communication
• Avoid criticising incomplete or incorrect words or sentences
• Acknowledge if you are having difficulty rather than pretending to understand
• Watch out for you getting tired – you can always stop and try again later

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Useful Contacts

Speech and Language Therapy Department, Forth Valley Royal Hospital
01324 566591

Different Strokes
differentstrokes.co.uk
01908 317618
info@differentstrokes.co.uk

Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland
www.chss.org.uk
Advice Line: 0808 801 0899

The Stroke Association
www.stroke.org.uk
Stroke Helpline: 0303 3033 100

Carers National Association
www.carersuk.org/scotland
0808 808 7777