IMAGERY IS MY MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL. I ENVISION SCRAPBOOK PAGES IN MY MIND, WRITE EMAILS & JOURNAL ENTERIES (THOUGH SOME ARE NEVER WRITTEN), TRY TO RECALL THINGS I HAVE MADE (LIKE THE POWERPOINT FOR A CHURCH YOUNG WOMAN LESSON, SO I CAN PONDER/MEMORIZE).

I ALSO DO A LOT OF PRAYING & PONDERING. & I LOVE THERAPIES THAT I CAN DO ALONE, LIKE TRACKING W/MY EYES, EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN MY ARM, VOCALIZING, & IF I CAN ACCESS IT, PRACTICING MY WRITING ON MY BOOGIE BOARD FROM BROOKSTONE!

BUT I’M OFTEN SO BUSY MOST DAYS THAT I DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE BORED! IT TOOK ME ALMOST 8 YEARS POST-STROKE B4 I FELT BORED, & WHEN I FELT BOREDOM, IT WAS NOT BECUZ OF MY SITUATION, OR THAT I LACKED THINGS 2 DO, BUT BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT I WAS SUPPOSED 2 DO! THE BOREDOM I FELT COULD HAVE HAPPENED 2 ANY1!

I’M ASSUMING SHE HAS BUILT UP HER BREATH SUPPORT ENOUGH THAT SHE CAN SAY SINGLE WORDS ON COMMAND? & DOES SHE HAVE ANYONE WHO MODELS ANY TOUGH CONSONANTS 4 HER?

PERSONALLY, IN THE BEGINNING, WHEN I WAS LEARNING SINGLE WORDS & 2-3 WORD PHRASES, I FOUND THE SPEECH PROGRAM “SIGHTS & SOUNDS” (FROM BUNGALOW) INVALUABLE, & USED IT DAILY. “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 1” WAS MY FAVORITE. IT DOES SINGLE WORDS. I SIMEOUTANEOUSLY DID “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 2,” BUT IT WAS HARDER & I HAD 2 GROW INTO IT. IT DOES PHRASES, BUT IN BOTH PROGRAMS, I HAD THE VERSION WHERE I COULD CREATE MY OWN LISTS (WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND–I RARELY DID ANYTHING ELSE!), & I THREW IN A FEW SINGLE WORDS ON MY “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 2” CUSTOM LIST, 2 GIVE ME A BREAK!

NOW, I CAN SAY THE VOWELS, & ABOUT 1/2 OF MY CONSONANTS. I STILL USE “SIGHTS & SOUNDS,” BUT I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE: SENTENCE SHAPER 2. I THINK IT IS THE MOST VERSATILE PROGRAM, & MAYBE I’M BIASED (BECUZ I AM A BETA TESTER 4 THEM), BUT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS GREAT. THE PROGRAM WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME BY BUNGALOW (WHO ALSO HAS FABULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE, & THEIR WEBSITE RECOMMENDS PROGRAMS 4 U, & LET’S U DO FREE TRIALS OF ANY PROGRAM I’M MENTIONING). BUNGALOW STATED THAT SENTENCE SHAPER WAS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM SIGHTS & SOUNDS. IN MY TRIAL, I DIDN’T SEE IT, BUT TOOK THEIR WORD 4 IT, & BOUGHT IT. IT CAME WITH A FREE TUTORIAL WITH THE LADY WHO HELPED CREATE IT, & THAT REALLY OPENED MY EYES!

I ACTUALLY SLUR MY WORDS, BUT W/THIS PROGRAM, I DIDN’T. I CRIED THE 1ST TIME I HEARD MYSELF SAY A SENTENCE! HERE’S SOMETHING I MADE (U NEED THE EDITING VERSION IN ORDER 2 DO THIS):

WHAT I DO:
THE PROGRAM USES PICTURES & MY VOICE TO MAKE A “WORKBOOK.” I HAVE PICTURES WITH SENTENCES TYPED ABOVE THE PICTURES. EACH PICTURE IS A PAGE IN THE WORKBOOK, AND I TRY TO SAY EACH TYPED SENTENCE. HOWEVER, IT IS OVERWHELMING FOR ME TO THINK THAT I NEED TO SAY THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE, SO I START SMALL. I SAY A WORD SEVERAL TIMES & RECORD THE GRUNTS I MAKE (THEY ARE “SNIP-ITS”). THEN I CHOOSE A “SNIP-IT” (WORD) 2 KEEP. THOSE GRUNTS ARE WORDS THAT FORM A SENTENCE. I PUT THE “SNIP-IT’S” IN ORDER SO I SOUND LIKE I’M SAYING A SENTENCE, & THEN THEY ARE COMBINED TO MAKE A “BEAN.”
IN THE PROCESS, I AM MODELLED BY MY OWN VOICE HOW NECESSARY IT IS 4 EACH WORD 2 BE SEPERATE. & I SEE HOW 2 SEPARATE MY OWN WORDS. SO, I MAY SAY A HURRIED, SLURRED SENTENCE THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS. BUT SOMETIMES, IF I SAY IT AGAIN, TRYING 2 HAVE BREAKS BETWEEN THE WORDS, & I MAY BE SUDDENLY UNDERSTOOD!
I FIGURE THIS PROGRAM WILL GROW WITH ME A LONG TIME, BECUZ, EVENTUALLY, I CAN HAVE SENTENCES BE “SNIP-ITS” THAT CAN BE COMBINED 2 FORM PHARAGRAPHS (“BEANS”).
I ALSO HAVE THE PROGRAM “SPEECH SOUNDS ON CUE.” THEY HAVE A NEW USA EDITION THAT IS JUST WONDERFUL. DEPENDS WHERE THE STROKE SURVIVOR IS IN THEIR JOURNEY TO REGAIN SPEECH, BUT THIS PROGRAM LETS U CHOOSE A LETTER 2 WORK ON IN THE ALPHABET, AND MODELS THE LETTER, AS WELL AS EXPLAING IT. GREAT, IF THE STROKE SURVIVOR IS THEIR OWN SPEECH THERAPIST! OTHERWISE, THEY CAN HAVE YOU OR A FRIEND MODEL (MY MUSIC THERAPIST IS A GREAT MODEL!), & THE SURVIVOR CAN USE A MIRROR 2 SEE IF THEY ARE DOING IT RIGHT.

THE PROGRAM THAT SEEMS ALMOST USELESS IS “NUMBERS & SOUNDS,” BECUZ I CREATED A LIST OF NUMBERS ON “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 1.” PLUS, I SAY THE NUMBER REP I’M DOING IN PHYSICAL THERAPY, & U COULD COUNT MONEY & SMALL ITEMS FOR YOUR OWN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY.

ALL OF THE PROGRAMS I MENTIONED CAN BE FOUND AT BUNGALOW’S WEBSITE, THOUGH SENTENCE SHAPER ALSO HAS A WEBSITE. THERE’S A LINK TO BUNGALOW ON MY WEBSITE. ANOTHER USEFUL TOOL: FINDING SLOW, FAMILIAR SONGS (LIKE “OLD MCDONALD OR THE ABC SONG) ON YOUTUBE & SING ALONG…I SANG “PRIMARY” SONGS IN MUSIC THERAPY FOR A YEAR (I STARTED JUST BY SAYING”MOO” IN THE RIGHT TIME, NEVER MINDING THE PITCH) BEFORE I GOT ANY SPEECH PROGRAMS. USE SONGS THAT ARE DEEPLY INGRAINED. ALSO LISTEN 2 CLASSICAL MUSIC. IT BUILDS BRAIN CELLS, & U CAN SLOW DOWN & INCREASE YOUR BREATH BY TRYING 2 LET YOURSELF INHALE & EXHALE SLOWLY, BUT GRADUALLY LENGTHENING IT.

I’M LUCKY, BECUZ OF MY RELIGIOUS BELIEFS (I’M LDS, A “MORMON.”) AS WELL AS A “DAILY THERAPIST” (MY HUSBAND, MK!). BOTH HELP ME TO KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE!

I’LL DISCUSS MY RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT HELP ME, BUT SINCE MY HUSBAND IS A THERAPIST, I’LL LET HIM ANSWER THE QUESTION:

AS FOR MY RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AS A “MORMON,” I BELIEVE THAT THIS LIFE IS TEMPORARY, & THAT 1 DAY, I WILL LIVE IN HEAVEN, FULLY RESTORED. THAT I WILL BE CAPABLE ONCE AGAIN OF WALKING AND TALKING. EVEN THOUGH RIGHT NOW I CAN BARELY MOVE, & AM JUST LEARNING 2 TALK.

ALSO, I REALLY FEEL THAT ALL I HAD WAS GOD’S IN THE 1ST PLACE, SO HE WAS ALLOWED 2 TAKE IT AWAY, & I’M GRATEFUL 4 WHATEVER HE GIVES BACK. HOWEVER, I KNOW THAT WHILE GOD MAY GIVE BACK CERTAIN ABILITIES, IT’S UP 2 ME 2 MAKE THAT ABILITY GROW…& IT TAKES LOTS OF PATIENCE, STRONG-WILL, A POSITIVE “I THINK I CAN” ATTITUDE, & DETERMINATION, IN ORDER 2 DEVELOP THESE ABILTIES GOD PUTS W/IN REACH!

CONCERNING THERAPY, HERE’S MK:

As a psychotherapist I will obviously say that therapy has its merits. Bedside manner is important for an MD, but finding a therapist with a personality and a skill set that meets what you need is very critical to making the experience work. For the most part, most of the huge work that people do has nothing to do with anything changing other than their perspective (which is huge). There is tons of reframing and radical acceptance that goes on that allows a person to not just accept their situation, but actually find enjoyment in life despite their situation. There is a lot of faith that people need to have in their therapist to trust what is being said will actually work. That is where the experience comes in handy. To actually say that you have seen things get better, and to clearly convey the process, is a huge sell to the client. your MD can give you a pill and it will do its business despite how hard you work. Therapy is totally dependent on the individual and how much effort they put into it.

There may be a variety of issues as well. Depression is most likely at the top of the list. Those who have families (and who does not?) need to keep in mind that the family is a system and when one part is not going well, the system feels it. Parents, siblings, spouses, children, and other extended family are often thrown for a loop. There are caregiver issues, marital issues, anger issues, related addictions due to poor coping skills, and a slew of childhood behavior problems/disorders. There may be a bunch of other issues, and typically several going on at the same time.

Aside from reframing exercises, there are a few other things that are done in a session. Family education is huge in situations like this. It still boggles my mind how often people come in with a diagnosis from years ago and still have no idea what it is all about. Another part of the education is helping people understand what is typical/normal for the situation. It is incredible how a person who you thought was rude could be offensive to you until you became aware that they were autistic and your outlook is brand new. Helping people understand where they are on the grief cycle is also helpful. You don’t have to experience a death to feel grief or loss. I also like to warn of possible outcomes. This is not to scare, but to prepare and give people understanding to identify and prevent bigger problems. Teaching skills to address anxiety and depression is a standard. Coping skills is an area where I feel people typically lack all the connections to put together the skills they already have with the other components that will help them face any adversity. I think most therapists do it wrong as well.

As a therapist, we were taught to tell people to do something to take care of themselves in order to address the stressors. After Jenny’s stroke, I felt like an idiot for all the times that I went through the motions before Jenny’s stroke. When I heard the same advice, but this time aimed at me, I vowed to do things differently. As a therapist, I am now more aggressive and teach this different than I did before.

Some people struggle in a therapy setting. there is a stigma that is attached that some can not get over. Others never grew up in a home where sharing thoughts and feelings was done, so it is a foreign experience at first.

Does therapy work? It works great. I see people’s lives change all the time.