Speech Pathologist's have a varied an important role in stroke rehabilitation.
If you would like to find out more about what we do and how we work with other members of the team, I'll be happy to explain it to you...
Mr Tanner presented with moderate non-fluent
as a result of his recent stroke and this will be the primary focus of his rehabilitation. Mild receptive difficulties were also noted for complex, lengthy information. Mr Tanner’s orofacial musculature was within normal limits and his swallowing function was intact.
When I assessed him this afternoon, Mr Tanner presented with limited meaningful verbal output. His speech was very slow and effortful and he had difficulty talking spontaneously about familiar topics. He was able to answer simple biographical questions with time and support (e.g. Where do you live? What work do you do?).
Mr Tanner’s speech and language skills were screened using the BEST-2 aphasia screen. He had difficulty naming and describing pictures making frequent semantic or word errors (e.g. “pin” for nail). He was able to comprehend single words, one and two stage commands and basic “yes” and “no” questions.
Mr Tanner was noted to become frustrated when word finding difficulties were experienced and he is avoiding conversations. This appears to be placing some strain on his wife. Over the coming weeks speech pathology intervention will target Mr Tanner’s language and functional communication skills, while providing education and support services to his family and staff on the ward.
