Created by Amy Stanley
 A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is
stopped or when bleeding occurs in the brain.
 Any time the brain is deprived of oxygen for too long or
blood spills in the brain, brain damage may occur.
 There are two main types:
An artery carrying blood to the brain may be blocked by a blood
clot or a buildup of material like cholesterol, causing brain tissue
to die.
•
Over 80% of all strokes happen this way.
2) An artery carrying blood to the brain may burst, causing the
blood to spill and clot in the brain.
1)
http://www.medicalscale1.com/cat
egory/stroke-video/
 There are many risk factors for stroke. They include:
 High cholesterol
 Male
 High blood pressure
 African American
 Family history of a stroke
 Age (55 or older)
 Previous stroke
 Unusual/low breathing while
asleep
 Diabetes
 Smoking
 Living in the stroke belt (mostly
southern states)
 There are many symptoms of a stoke. They include the
following sudden conditions:
 Unusual sounding speech or difficulty speaking
 Blurred vision
 Severe headache
 Loss of coordination/ trouble walking
 Muscle weakness or tingling/numbness in one side of
the body
 Timing is everything. The best thing you can do is get
the person to the hospital as soon as possible.
 Even if the symptoms go away, the person still needs to
seek medical treatment. They may have experienced a
mini-stroke that could lead to a more serious stroke.
Act FAST:
Face: Does the face look uneven? Ask
your loved one to smile.
Arm: Does one arm drift down? Ask
them to raise both arms.
Speech: Does their speech sound
strange? Ask them to repeat a phrase.
Time: Every second brain cells die.
9-1-1 at any sign of a stroke.
http://strokedoctor.com/medical-info/memory-problems-may-besign-of-stroke-risk
Call
 To help prevent a stroke, you can:
 Eat a healthy diet with low cholesterol and fat. You
should also eat less salty foods and more vegetables and
fruit.
 Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.
 Do not smoke cigarettes.
 Aphasia is an acquired condition that causes difficulty in
understanding language and speaking due to brain
damage on the left side of the brain.
Left side brain damage
Left side brain damage
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Words/Aphasia.htm
 Stroke is the number one cause of aphasia.
 Aphasia is not memory loss.
 Aphasia is not a loss of
intelligence.
 Aphasia is not a loss of muscle
use, although muscle weakness
may be seen with it.
http://www.aphasia.org/EmergencyResponder.html
 Aphasia will impact an individual’s language. Some symptoms of
aphasia may include:
 Difficulty speaking and writing
 Slight or significant difficulty understanding language, spoken or
written
 Slow , difficult speech with pauses
 Speech that is spoken at a normal rate, but difficult to understand
because of made up words ,off-topic words, or repeated phrases
 Difficulty repeating words or identifying objects
 There are several kinds of aphasia depending on which part
of the brain is damaged. These are the two major types:
1)
One type may allow the person to speak at a normal rate,
however their speech may be confusing and difficult to
understand . They may also have difficulty understanding
language.
2)
The second type may allow the person to understand
language better than they can speak, so their speech may be
slow and difficult to produce. However, some people may
have difficulty understanding as well as a difficult time
speaking.
 Note: severity of language loss will be different among people.
 A speech-language pathologist can
help your loved one.
 There are devices that can be used
to help you loved one communicate.

For more information visit:
http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/ma
estro/
http://worldaphasia.blogspot.com/2009/04/smalltalk
-for-aphasia-smalltalk-for.html
 Most importantly, remember that your loved one is still the
same person.
 Ask them yes/no questions instead of open-ended
questions.
 Talk slowly when speaking to them.
 Give them plenty of time to respond to questions or
comments.
 Encourage speech and independence.

Brain basics: Preventing stroke (2011). National
institute of neurological disorders and stroke. Retrieved from
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/preventing_stroke.htm

Chapey, R. (2008). Language Intervention Strategies in Aphasia and Related Neurogenic
Communication Disorders (5th edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Kugel, C. & Cafarelli, V. (Directors). (2009) It’s still me! [motion picture] . United States: Buzzco
Associates, inc.

LaPointe, L. (2005). Aphasia and Related Neurogenic Language Disorders (3rd edition). New
York: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.