Caring for a Loved One with Aphasia

How Can I Help A Loved One With Aphasia?

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a communication disorder resulting from damage to the parts of the brain that affect language. Aphasia often happens suddenly, mostly commonly as the result of a stroke or brain injury. For someone with a tumor or neurological disease, aphasia can develop more slowly.

Aphasia can impact a person’s ability to communicate in several ways. People with aphasia may have a hard time speaking or saying the correct words they are trying to communicate. They can have difficulty comprehending conversations if someone speaks too fast or the room is too noisy. They may also have trouble reading, writing or doing math.

Can someone with aphasia be cared for at home?

Aphasia care can absolutely happen at home, most often with the help from a home care team. A family member can also be an aphasia caregiver after being educated on techniques to best help their loved one navigate and manage their health.

How can I best communicate with someone with aphasia?

People with aphasia can still understand and think, so it’s important to continue to communicate respectfully and treat them with dignity. Some ways to communicate more effectively include:

• Speaking slower and using shorter sentences
• Asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions
• Reducing background noise
• Asking them to draw, write or point when they are struggling to speak
• Using pictures or gestures to convey your message
• Giving them time to speak and avoiding finishing their sentences
• Being patient and helping when asked

The National Aphasia Association has aphasia resources for caregivers that you can explore.

How can aphasia in-home care help my loved one?

Home care agencies, such as Elara Caring, provide in home care services to help aphasia patients with recovery wherever they call home. Speech language pathologists are specially trained to help patients preserve their remaining language abilities and restore those that were affected by their illness or injury. They also teach new communication techniques to help patients maintain quality of life.

If you think your loved one would benefit from speech language therapy through Elara Caring’s in-home health services, contact us today.

Interested in becoming a caregiver? Learn more.