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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staff
People with aphasia
If you have aphasia, the following tips may help you communicate with others:
- Carry a card explaining that you have aphasia and what aphasia is.
- Carry identification and information on how to contact significant others.
- Carry a pencil and a small pad of paper with you at all times.
- Use drawings, diagrams or photos as shortcuts.
- Use gestures or point to objects.
Family and friends
Family members and friends can use the following tips when communicating with a person with aphasia:
- Simplify your sentences and slow down your pace.
- Keep conversations one-on-one to start with.
- Allow the person time to talk.
- Don't finish sentences or correct errors.
- Reduce distracting noise in the environment.
- Keep paper and pencils or pens readily available.
- Write a key word or a short sentence to help explain something.
- Help the person with aphasia create a book of words, pictures and photos to assist with conversations.
- Use drawings or gestures when you aren't understood.
- Involve the person with aphasia in conversations as much as possible.
- Check for comprehension or summarize what you've discussed.
Support groups
Local chapters of such organizations as the National Aphasia Association, the American Stroke Association, the American Heart Association and some medical centers may offer support groups for people with aphasia and others affected by the disorder. These groups provide people with a sense of community, a place to air frustrations and learn coping strategies. Ask your doctor or speech-language pathologist if he or she knows of any local support groups.
- Aphasia. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/aphasia.htm. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Aphasia: Benefits of speech-language pathology services. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/AphasiaSLPBenefits.htm. Accessed Jan. 19, 2010.
- Aphasia. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Aphasia.htm. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Aphasia. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch210/ch210d.html. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Mesulam MM. Aphasia, memory loss, and other focal cerebral disorders. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2886863. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Clark DG. Aphasia: Prognosis and treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- NINDS aphasia information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/aphasia/aphasia.htm. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Tips for socializing with aphasia. American Stroke Association. http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3030118. Accessed Jan. 19, 2010.
- Edythe Strand, Ph.D. (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 1, 2010.
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