July 14 - is this aphasia?

Yesterday we had a small group zoom which we call, conversation group. It is very unstructured. We have been meeting for over a year, I think. We have become close friends and our Wednesday chats are mostly about how we are doing, what is going on in our lives and we still ask each other questions to get to know each other better.

Yesterday one friend told us about an incident she had in her assisted living facility. She had been sitting down on the ground and was getting back up, in the way she normally does, when 3 nurses descended upon her. Apparently they thought she had fallen. She was so taken aback by their overreaction, that nothing came out of her mouth.

After telling us the story, she asked "is this Aphasia"?

I know we are the experts. Those who live with aphasia every minute of the day should know all about the language disorder we have. But even a 12 year "pro" had the question.

I thought her question was good and it got us all talking. But what I really thought was interesting and important for my quest for "living well with aphasia" is ......

Because aphasia is a life long challenge for most of us, what communication strategies or tools do we still need to have handy in case of an emergency?

As I said, this person has had aphasia for over a decade. She speaks well. She has word finding issues that we all have, that range from mild to severe. On a normal day, I think most people can't tell she has a problem talking. As we progress in our "recovery" we are able to say short phases or short sentences without much problems so generally people wouldn't guess we have some major challenges. I say I can "fake being normal". If we have to express more or want to tell a story or explain something more complicated, then it can become obvious that something is "wrong".

And in times when we are stressed or there is an emergency, we may lose our voice all together as my friend did the other day. It is in those situations that we have to be prepared to let someone know

1. what they can do to help; (stop, patience, time, listen and watch for body language)

2. that we are not drunk or have another issue; (that we have aphasia)

3. alternative ways to express ourselves, besides speaking.

I have not needed these things. Most times that I've been stressed, my husband has been with me. But I really think I need to be more prepared just in case, I find myself in a similar situation.

until next time......