Picture Flashcards for Stroke Rehab

Getting your voice back after a stroke can be difficult – language flashcards can help

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is blocked by a clot. A portion of the brain does not get the blood it needs, which leads to the loss of brain cells.

Stroke can lead to speech and language problems, memory loss, vision loss and/or paralysis. Stroke rehab is an important part of the recovery process. Stroke patients may need to relearn skills that have been lost, as well as regain speech and strengthen their memory.

Language difficulties and stroke

At least ¼ of all stroke survivors experience language impairments, involving the ability to speak, write, and understand spoken and written language. Regaining these abilities requires carefully directed, well-focused and repetitive practice.

Research using advanced imaging technology shows that repetitive practice assists with moving functions located within the affected part of the brain to other regions. In short, it’s driving the rewiring of brain circuits, also known as neuroplasticity.

It is the same kind of practice used by all people when they learn a new skill, such as playing the piano or pitching a baseball.

Picture flashcards for stroke patients

Picture flashcards can aid a range of speech and language challenges after stroke.

Stroke can often affect a patient’s ability to understand and produce speech, as well as the clarity and rate at which words are spoken. Practising with flashcards can help to regain these skills.

Flashcards can also be used to treat cognitive and memory challenges by improving recall and helping the patient relearn common words.

A stroke patient may struggle with spatial reasoning. This relates to the ability to think about objects in three dimensions, such as on top, in front and inside. Picture flashcards for stroke patients can simplify these concepts by showing a specific object in different positions. So if it is clothes, they are either on top, in front or inside a washing machine.

Flashcard sets are accessible, inexpensive and portable tools that can be used in hospital or rehab settings as well as during therapy sessions and at home.

Using flashcards for stroke rehabilitation

Here are some examples of how flashcards can be used for stroke rehabilitation:

Aphasia

Aphasia is an impaired ability to understand or produce speech as a result of brain damage. People with receptive aphasia have trouble understanding words other people speak. They may not understand the order of the words or the relationship between the words.

In comparison, those with expressive aphasia know what they want to say but have trouble saying it. They may use the wrong words or omit words without realising they’ve done so. When a person experiences both receptive and expressive aphasia, this is known as global aphasia. People with global aphasia may be unable to follow commands, name objects or repeat phrases.

Flashcards can help patients with aphasia relearn object names and build connections between different words. An image can be shown to the patient for them to name or describe. This process can be repeated many times over to form the connection between the image and the word.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria can occur after stroke and is a speech disorder caused by muscle weakness in the face, tongue and/or mouth. People with dysarthria may speak slowly and their speech may sound slurred, muffled, hoarse or nasal.

Flashcards can be used to focus on articulation, allowing the patient to practice different types of sounds and word forms.

Apraxia

People with apraxia of speech have difficulty connecting speech messages from the brain to mouth. It relates to difficulty initiating and executing voluntary movement patterns when there is no paralysis or weakness of the speech muscles. They may find it difficult to produce the right speech sound and use the correct rhythm and rate of speaking.

Flashcards are often used for speech drills, which encourage a person to say vowels, words and phrases repeatedly. If the focus were on ‘a’ then the images of an acorn, apron, lady and baby would be ideal.

Memory and cognitive challenges

Another potential effect of stroke relates to difficulties with memory and cognition, such as planning, organizing ideas and making decisions.

Flashcards are an ideal resource for assisting with memory challenges because they allow for testing, feedback and repetition. A set of flashcards might be used to teach the concept of items that inherently go together, such as sock and shoe. The student can be asked to match the card they are holding (such as the sock) with the associated card (ie the shoe).

I purchased three different packs of cards – Go together, Prepositions and Verbs – and all have been invaluable for helping my husband regain some of his words and improving his memory after having a stroke.

Ruth