First official session today and I am showing improvement of 50-75% per SPL, I rated it lower. I have been reading my sentences to Ohana for the last month. I will now be seeing Ms. Amy weekly and have new homework - I am to read 5-10 minute intervals out loud and recording on my smart phone. Easy things to read - no medical journals or anything complicated. Magazines or books was suggested. I’m reading Nevada Barr (forgot the title) right now so I’m good to go on a book. Also have a new woodcarving magazine…
My plan is to read out loud to Ohana twice a day and then to partner after dinner. This will give me the 30 minute overall daily goal which Ms. Amy said she would be “delighted”. I am to record my reading so I can hear the differences. I think it will also help Ms Amy hear where I am still having problems. Oh and I read it to myself so I am familiar with the paragraph and then read it out loud.
I become easily distracted and Ms. Amy constantly has to refocus me. It’s exhausting. She also has to give me definitive explanations so I can understand what she wants. I think she uses half a dozen words with the same meaning and I can latch on to a couple. I am using my hand to create a tempo and when I need to draw the words together I use a motion that is like a choral conductor having the choir draw out the note.
I loaded up on protein during the ride and kept hydrated before and during. Ms Amy also douses the overhead light. She suggested I use sunglasses with side panels. Trees and afternoon sunlight are hard on the photophobia despite sunglasses and a ball cap. I know my opthomologist doesn’t sell them in the bronze which he did suggest I wear and those have been a great help, better than the gray tones I used to wear. Amazing how a color change helped so much.
Ms Amy will refer me to the aphasia specialist after we are done if I want and she has someone else she wants me to meet, a Cunningham, I don’t remember his first name or what he does but he wasn’t available today.
You have homework as I did in vision therapy... they learned after the first day...to write my instructions....even tho I could not read-comprehend...I at least could read/spell it back to them on the phone for clarification for my weekly homework...Yes, it was somewhat frazzling...to know my memory was worse than my failed reading/comprehension...
And, if I wrote my notes...I could (yet can) not read my own writing - or printing - and, yet have problems w/that...One reason I read/type/edit..vs taking some notes to help my memory...
Somewhere in my research (may be most current?) notes the writing loss a/w/a seeing...now, I will have to find that again.. to remember that connection... .
Many of us have the special glasses....in remembering mine..it was just a few days after the first post-discharge f/u...I panicked driving...called my eye doc who took me in quickly...and, I got my first treated glasses... Because of my memory...I had to get a second pair of glasses for my b/u when I can't see/find mine...(the sunglasses)...
wow! congrates! i read all this, very fascinating! early on i tried to use big words to impress the therapists and stuttered stammered and drew blanks. I had to stop this and just keep it simple! i am much better now 6 yrs post sah, tc and best of luck to you!
Thank you Karen and Ron! The support from this group is awe inspiring! And you’re right Ron, speaking in simple language is much easier. When I type, I am discovering the more complex words I know. When I first joined, those were so difficult, but others would give me the word and it helped!
Ms. Pat, I have problems with coordination, I list to the right when I walk. Though not as bad as when I first got out. In fact about a year or so ago(that means I don’t remember) I ran my arm into a small nail that was sticking out from the metal stripping in the doorway. It took several stitches, a tetanus shot and a nail set to hammer that thing back in where it belongs! I also have a weird thing when walking down stairs, I feel like I’m going up and down them like a toddler as it takes a few moments for my brain to register I have my foot on the stair. But what’s weird is when I am done with the flight, it takes several steps for me to understand I am not on stairs anymore. It helps to have someone there when I get down to give me their arm as I often stumble until my brain understands I am on flat ground again. It also helps to wear bright colored shoes as it’s easier to see the step and my feet. I do continue to practice each day. One day it will be okay.
Moltroub, you’re really an excellent self advocate! Seems that is one of survivor skills hoped for. My husband has always been a good advocate especially following my surgery. He helps organize all my bills and initially went to all my appointments. Now I am cognitively and physically able to navigate on my own. Support like yours and others in this support group is very appreciated by me . Thanks! Best wishes for your continuing journey.
Thanks Megger, your statements really mean a lot! I still have to have my partner do more than before rupture - all the driving beyond my comfort, and all the cooking. But we are learning what I can do without supervision and the different tricks members share here or my doctor and others suggest. When I look back to what I could do two years ago and what I can do now, I’m simply amazed at the growth. I couldn’t have done it without the support from everyone!
Oh boy a scary trip to Winston Salem yesterday with an ice storm…I wanted to turn around about 15 miles down the freeway, but my partner never gave up. The return trip was worse with ice building on the wipers and vehicles flipping off the road.
But I have been doing my homework and can know progress to therapy every other week. My new assignment is to get a Readers Digest in large print(couldn’t find one anywhere in town so it will be the regular print). I read a couple paragraphs to myself, record them, when I read out loud, go back over the paragraphs and highlight the words I have difficulty with, and record those words. I am learning to make a t sound like a d when it comes to the end of the word or in the middle and still working on dragging words together. I have been “over articulating”. Still have the accent but it doesn’t sound quite so bad. This is exhausting work, but very important to me. It’s sort of like being in boot camp all over again lol
I also met another SLP, Kevin, who is going to do a Neuro Communications Eval. He has a theory that my right sided headaches may be my brain trying to take over for the damaged language centers. I’ve never heard of this type of evaluation so I’ll let you know what he does when I’m done with it.
Mol;troub....this is exciting...becuase ,,I have not had any accent you have discussed...but definitely the wrong "sound" by letters...like 'P' and "s"... and, as I type... my memory is blanking the other few... .And, I also know (after 12 years)...if I am fatigued...one or more is likely to pop up...
From the aphasia side...I yet cannot always bring up some words...especially if my conversation has been switched....hearing or speaking...social functions can be overwhelming.../more so if meeting in a restaurant..
Will like to learn more from you on Kevin's testing...
Glad you made it back safe and sound! Keep pluggin!
Moltroub said:
Oh boy a scary trip to Winston Salem yesterday with an ice storm…I wanted to turn around about 15 miles down the freeway, but my partner never gave up. The return trip was worse with ice building on the wipers and vehicles flipping off the road.
But I have been doing my homework and can know progress to therapy every other week. My new assignment is to get a Readers Digest in large print(couldn’t find one anywhere in town so it will be the regular print). I read a couple paragraphs to myself, record them, when I read out loud, go back over the paragraphs and highlight the words I have difficulty with, and record those words. I am learning to make a t sound like a d when it comes to the end of the word or in the middle and still working on dragging words together. I have been “over articulating”. Still have the accent but it doesn’t sound quite so bad. This is exhausting work, but very important to me. It’s sort of like being in boot camp all over again lol
I also met another SLP, Kevin, who is going to do a Neuro Communications Eval. He has a theory that my right sided headaches may be my brain trying to take over for the damaged language centers. I’ve never heard of this type of evaluation so I’ll let you know what he does when I’m done with it.
Thanks Lisa! Ms Pat, I lose a lot of words in public settings when it is too loud or bright, if I get excited or nervous or angry. I won’t be playing poker anytime in the near future.
One of the things I have been working on is the 'auditory cortex'...and, its location on our temporal lobe... Each time I check a definition of one of many words on a 'subject'...I go online to define them...in my personal glossary per subject...and, my diminished brain level loses track...and, I start all over again... to refresh my thought that began my glossary...
Moltroub said:
Thanks Lisa! Ms Pat, I lose a lot of words in public settings when it is too loud or bright, if I get excited or nervous or angry. I won't be playing poker anytime in the near future.
Ms Pat, I don’t know if the following will help, if it doesn’t we can come up with some other ideas…
Can you write a quick note to yourself on why you are looking up that word or term? It might be something to help jog your memory. Maybe in a notebook so you have another source to look at without opening tabs? Or can you highlight the word or term, click “select” and do a “define” as opposed to cut, copy, etc? This feature will either do a pop up with the definition or prompt you to search the web for the word or term, it will open a new tab and you will still have the site you are reading from opened.
Yes...I do open the tabs...it is my 'memory' portion...from learning to long-term memory...
Yes...I can (and do) write lists...but then I have to remember "it"...even when I take it w/me...
I have to remember to look at it...and not get distracted when a conversation is begun...often w/ compliments on my Tree of Life pendant...
I have mentioned I am working on "cognitive impairment" and the potential advancements to dementias(s)... there are dementia symptoms that can so overlap/cuddle lobes.. .
For easy resource: search online: Dementia-like conditions that may be reversed...
The Mayo Clinic Dementia will come up...I do suggest starting a bit down the line to this Dementia-like section...
This dementia-like so important to me are: *subdural hematoma; *normal-pressure hydrocephalus; *reactions to medications *.infections and immune disorders...(perhaps should include things like Sjogren's syndrome???)
and *metabolic problems and endocrine abnormalities (THYROID problems) *nutritional deficiencies; *poisoning; * anoxia (aka hypoxia) (occurs when organ tissue aren't getting enough oxygen.. .(passed in our blood...some of us placed under coronary care)..
A lot of doors need to be opened wide... again research to view all the verbiage...there are numerous other sites...this has been the easiest for me to read/readily comprehend...so Mayo met one challenge of mine just in that!
Moltroub said:
Ms Pat, I don't know if the following will help, if it doesn't we can come up with some other ideas...
Can you write a quick note to yourself on why you are looking up that word or term? It might be something to help jog your memory. Maybe in a notebook so you have another source to look at without opening tabs? Or can you highlight the word or term, click "select" and do a "define" as opposed to cut, copy, etc? This feature will either do a pop up with the definition or prompt you to search the web for the word or term, it will open a new tab and you will still have the site you are reading from opened.
I will have to check that out. I too become easily distracted and will over focus. Hopefully working with Kevin can give us both some ideas. Keep playing the brain games. I’m going to start back on Sudoku which I haven’t tried for two years and still have a book or two laying around getting dusty. I’ve noticed I’m having a little difficulty with Lumosity and don’t understand why, but recently it’s been exhausting me. I feel like I’ve bucked hay all day.
Whew, two hours to get home. We are both exhausted! We had to reroute through the country to avoid sitting on the Interstate.
So today we met with Kevin and Intern Lindsey for the NeuroCommunication Eval. It was a series of tests. But he gave me reading exercises, each one having more information than the previous, he read the scenario and then let me have it in writing. Things like how which family had how many kids and the type of water vessel, whose married to whom and what type of clothes they purchased. Oh and some sequencing of different shapes, shapes within shapes and drawing out lines within a box and no repeating his two examples or any of the ones I drew. Summation is I have good cognitive skills.
He did talk about me paying the bills and keeping up the checkbook. I shared the last time it took me four hours. I realized coming home that it was my parents checkbook and my mother has a unique way of balancing her checkbook. We, my partner and I both forgot to say we agreed to separation of responsibilities twenty years ago and I don’t have to pay the bills, it’s not my job lol.
I became upset when I guess I misunderstood what Kevin was saying when he shared he had people come in worse off than I and was able to work. I translated that into he thought I could work. Hope bounded up out of nowhere. Apparently he was just explaining cognitively I look fine on paper, it’s all the other issues I have.
He suggested mindfulness, Lumosity and Constant Therapy which deals with math and problem solving. Constant Therapy is an app, free for first 30 days and then about $15 each month. I am to wait until I go back in two weeks to upload the app. We also discussed suduko which if you like it, it’s fine.
Kevin also provided us with a handout on Tips to Keep Your Brain Healthy. It explains use it or lose it, use it and improve it, as well as specific activities matter. These ideas came from research by J.A Jones and T.A. Jones 2008 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research entitled Principals of experience-dependent neuroplasticity: Implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. I can type it into either the Mindfullness Group or Brain Aneurysm Resources if anyone wants to see what it says. I’ll maybe have time on Sunday.
I graduated Speech today! I still have my accent but I have more tools in my bag and I need to keep working on them in order to keep my skills. Ms. Amy says a 90% improvement.
Things that are different is I am not so nasally when I speak, I don’t pronounce each word so crisply, I am not putting so many “a” sounds at the end of words, I’m not using ah to find a wor as much. The reading out loud and correcting what I hear wrong on the recording, highlighting those words and repeating has really helped. Another thing I noticed is my vocabulary growing and this is a big deal - the more I read out loud, the more thoughts I am getting in my head. I can actually have a full conversation and answer myself if I want to!
What’s the next step, you ask? 30 days of Constant Therapy with Kevin looking in. He can tweak it so it’s more difficult or harder. I don’t have his email, so I need to call him on Monday and leave a message that with the math, I’m losing my words. But boy can I get my neurotransmitters jumping lol. I’m in the 68% group, which some might say isn’t bad, some might say it isn’t too good…I say it’s where I am now.
I don’t need to tutor statistics or algebra anymore, but I loved math and I want that skill back. Oh and something that seems to help is the Constant Therapy app speaks to you and let’s you read. So I get it both ways which does really seem to help. Sorta like reading the big text from Readers Digest. For some reason, the larger text doesn’t strain my head so much when I’m working on my Speech. Nope don’t need glasses to read yet, had my eyes checked twice last year.
And I learned today from Kevin that bending, or strong emotions can affect people with aphasia, it’s a common occurrence among us! Who knew?
Mol...thank you for this info... There is also the BrainHQ that has numerous programs/exercises... some are available free and others, more intense, have fees...
Yes, there are many programs to keep a brain stimulated Ms Pat! Kevin chose the Constant Therapy because he can follow my progress and tweak it to make it easier or forbid - harder. I can’t figure out how to make it explain how they came up with their answer which is frustrating. And I can’t remember some of my basic math…