On my second stroke/AVm, i lost the power of speech. The whole lot; took me many years hard work to come back to a decent level, and im never been the same guy again. I still hate talking on the phone, i know i will not be able to remember half of the stuff i get anyway. My speech isnt bad tbh, compared to what it was at the start (i couldnt say one word to start off with). 90*% back, BUT when your conversation can be 50 words a minimum........5 of them just wont "work" properly? Very frustrating, and i will be honest, frightening sometimes. how do u over come your problems fellow aphasic people?
I never lost my ability to speak entirely. I do forget words quite often but for me, it’s more likely when I’m writing (or typing). I find that having face to face conversations is better for me. I tend to remember face to face rather than telephone conversations more. Also, I think maybe I somehow take cues from other people’s expressions (if that makes any sense?). It’s much easier with friend and family than with the general public, obviously. If I forget a word generally the person that I’m speaking to will see my frustration and understand. The general public is less forgiving, but really I don’t know these people so I don’t give a flying *&)# what they think. I have found it’s best to let the people that I have regular dealings with know of my difficulties, that way they’re much more understanding when it happens the next time. It’s up to you how much you share and with whom. I’ve told the instructors at my gym, my hairdresser, some folks at the grocery store, the staff at my kids’ schools, and the staff at my favorite restaurant and bar. That way those people don’t look at me like I have 3 heads when I have difficulty. I hope that helps.
i will try to find that book. I did buy a great book not long ago, all about aphasia http://www.amazon.co.uk/Talking-About-Aphasia-Living-Language/dp/0335199364/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1305294552&sr=8-6 Talking About Aphasia: Living with Loss of Language After Stroke, its avery good book.
i must admit, i have never told that many people about my aphasia, i find it abit embarrasing and i know no one unless they have a stroke or close friend about it, will never have heard of "aphasia".
Taking notes just dont work for me most of the time. Unless i get say 2 digits at a time, 3-4 seconds between them, i just cant get the info.
The worse time for me was when i was at work, a few years back. This guy phoned up from nigeria - the boss was next door, so i had to take the call (hate it!). He gave me the number, and i said "ok thats good" - he was giving me the quickest number ever. so i said "ok", and he goes "can u read it back" - Oh dear! lol
Hi Richard. I did a search on Aphasia for you...