Aphasia Support Group

wow, is it me or doesnt anyone here ever had to deal with global aphasia?

What is global aphasia??My husband has been diagnosed with aphasia from an aneurysm which burst more than 2 1/2 years ago??He has done really well but recently he has taken a couple of steps back. Joanne

you may not be getting a lot of feedback regarding global aphasia due to: 1) people not being familiar with the term 2) global aphasia is the most severe type of aphasia, and is not as common as all of the other severity levels of aphasia collectively along the spectrum (mild, mild-moderate, moderate, & moderate-severe expressive &/or receptive aphasia).

you may already be aware of these resources, but i thought i would include them just in case:

http://boards.webmd.com/webx?THD@@.8958713f!thdchild=.8958713f/0

http://www.aphasia.org/aphasia_com...

i hope this helps!

oops... this one too!

http://www.aphasiahope.org/index.jsp

global aphasia is the worst kind, there is no recovery. its across the board so to speak, mother has very few words. her comprehension is a crap shoot, meaning she might understand what is saying to her and she might not, her answers to simple questions may be right and they may be wrong, no one knows for sure. actuallu, i do, i quit my job and sat with her from sunup to sundown everyday for a yr , i really did, to learn her, i can look at her and tell what she is trying to say, but i am the only one that can do that. now the nurses think they can, they spend a day or two with her and think they have it all under control, reckon that is why the od'd her on adivan? cause they understood her? no, everytime she opened her mouth to try to tell them she was uncomfortable sitting twisted in the wheelchair they gave her adivan until i found her od'd on it and filed a complaint with the dr that ordered adivan without my consent, i am her guardian, and there is no reason to give her adivan and i had her rushed to hospital and while she was in er he quit on her, against the law, another report to state, but anways, adivan is used on ppl who are hard to control. she is paralyzed and says few words, cant even get herself out of the room, now is bedridden. but its still a problem, mother had what they call a complete blowout when she had the first stroke, global aphasia effects all communication skills, speaking, comprehending, reading, writing, she cant even point to pictures to get her needs met because she cant figure out that a picture of a soda can would mean she wants a soda. it doesnt get any worse then global aphasia. thanks for the help, i do appreciate it!

You said your mother was in a nursing home. Is there a speech therapist that visits periodically? If not, maybe you might talk to the director of the nursing home. If your mother qualifies for medicare, which I am assuming, she should be covered fully. Nursing homes usually contract speech therapist that come on a need basis since most don't have one on staff full-time. That could definitely be a jumping off point. The therapist should know of different doctors to refer you to if needed.

mother has seen many speech therapists, the degree of the global aphasia is the worst any has ever seen. therapy does nothing, we have tried. and medicare will only pay if improvement can be shown, she never improved, after several diff slp's going 5 days a week for 3 months, 4 different times, it is not reversable in her case.

im so sorry that the speech therapists have not been able to help... has anyone ever tried an object board with her rather than a picture board? does she have a routine so they can reasonably anticipate her needs if she is unable to communicate what they are? is she able to sing simple songs at all (strange question i know, but sometimes with aphasia, music can be a good "back door" to language) ;)

Sorry that I just saw this support group on aphasia.

My 81 year old father suffered a massive stroke that left him as a global aphasic. When we really spend time with him, his speech improves. Awhile ago, I contacted the following resource and purchased some of their cards. They were very helpful: http://strokefamily.org/

Also, there are facilities out there that really specialize in helping global aphasics. I don't know where you live, but the Rehabilitation Hospital of Chicago has the best speech therapy department in the nation.

Good luck to you.

yes, I had a stroke / global aphasia in 2006 and I was lock’t in my brain. I have read this (string?). There is very little info for aphasia and what works. Yes, you have several Association and specialized facilities and need big money. I have nearly lost all my money to try nearly everything. In the end, and if you are willing to fight, it will start to come back.

There is a lot going one in your brain and your psychology. The hardest thing after my stroke was my short memory. I just could not think to do what to do, less alone to do the next thing. It would take me all day, and then do it again the next day. Take about spinning your wheels!

For family and friends, be patient. We are adults, not children but, you do have to start from kindergarten. Get a routine. Get a dictionary and find out an lnteresting name or letter and big as at least at 24 point. Start to learn to write, 5, 10......like a bad child in school , go for a walk, flowers, painting, hobbies. Go back, speak, 1 syllable. Slow to speak and let her to figure out to speak, don't try to use your mouth to explain. Its little steps and rest. And it should be some fun, and also the pro’s. Its like sports, you can’t run the first game. Its a full time project to learn again and the only way to do it, is to get it brain working. For me, I had to figure my self out. The language pathologist's told me to watch, but I could not listen and watch both. I looked off or closed my eyes and listened very hard and she would get angry sometimes, so sometimes I would just play with her because of her :), but I’m listening and my brain would make a picture of a sound that I liked.
Like I said above and my money, be careful. There is a lot of gold but under the gold is lead. I now some of the special computers and software can run 1000’s of dollars. The “Pros” are spinning their wheels too. Most I found on the internet I needed and downloaded for my therapy. I know its some sarcastic and their are some very good. But its a young science and there are some promisings in drugs and stem cell.

I remember in Sunday School, and I do not like organized religion but I am spiritual , "Help your self and God will help you"

http://www.aphasia.org/aphasia_com...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia

http://www.google.com/search?clien...

L