Post Stroke Rehabilitation
Post Stroke Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation after a stroke allows an individual to communicate once again.
It is an integral step in regaining independence and reintegrating into daily life and activities.With the right help, a person can make progress at each stage of the rehabilitation process. Communication is central to quality of life. Generally, a stroke can impact the communication abilities of the individual affected
A Speech-Language Pathologist is the health professional that evaluates an individual’s ability to speak, understand, read and write. Other consequences of a stroke can make communication difficult. Difficulties affecting memory, organisation, problem solving and concentration can have an impact on an individual’s ability to communicate. The role of the speech therapist is to understand the extent of communication difficulties, and the impact on the daily life of the person and to put in place a treatment plan with the individual and their family.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a label that describes the condition of difficulty speaking or understanding after a cerebral lesion. The cause is often a stroke, but can also be due to other types of cerebral lesions.
The symptoms of aphasia are diverse and include – word finding difficulties (Anomia), ungrammatical sentences, confusion or word substitution, nonsensical speech or a difficulty expressing oneself.
For comprehension, it can be difficult to understand certain words or sentences. It is important to note.that aphasia can be subtle in its symptoms. For example, apathy and a general isolation from contact can be a symptom of aphasia as can a difficulty understanding nonverbal communication (facial expressions, irony, humour, etc.).
What services are offered
to treat aphasia ?
In the region of Quebec City, rehabilitation services are offered in the public system generally only during the acute phase post stroke.
However, patients often require services that extend past the time that the public system is able to offer them.
Our speech-language pathologists are happy to collaborate with the rehabilitation team following an individual post-stroke to ensure that the rehabilitation gains made in hospital continue. This way communication abilities, central to quality of life and social participation, are rehabilitated to their maximum potential
Role of the Speech-Language Pathology in post stroke rehabilitation.
Supporting the Person and Their Family. The role of the speech therapist varies depending on the individual, their situation and the objectives they want to achieve. Although most individuals want to work on re-establishing their communication abilities, it is also possible to work on compensatory strategies of communication if that rehabilitation is not possible. For example,
technological aids, such as tablets or iPads, can be integrated into daily communication exchanges to ensure that the individual can efficiently communicates needs and desires.
Speech-Language Pathologists can also offer strategies and techniques to the family to help support communication. These strategies reduce frustration by increasing the ease of communication. This is an important element, as the side effects of a stroke are not only felt by the individual, but also by their family and friends.
Conclusion
The Speech-Language Pathologists at Centre Mosaïque de Québec work with the individual and the family. No matter how much time has passed post-stroke, our therapists can accompany you to obtain a better quality of life.
Make an appointment
The Centre Mosaïque is committed to providing prompt care to meet your needs. Feel free to contact us to find out how our speech therapists can help you.