SPEECH THERAPY FOR THE HEMIPLEGIC PATIENT

Abstract

Not all hemiplegics require speech therapy. Some do not lose their speech, others recover speech almost immediately. Of those who do not have spontaneous recovery, some will not respond to treatment because the damage is too severe and widespread, and frustration of both therapist and patient would follow attempted treatment. Here the direction of an experienced doctor is vital. He will refer to the speech therapist those patients who should respond, and he will know that speech rehabilitation, particularly in older patients who have become aphasic following vascular trauma, will usually be slow. Apart from rehabilitation of speech, the speech therapist plays an important role in the team in that she adds to the psychological support of a person who has suffered not only a severe illness but also a grave shock producing fears and anxieties concerning future social and economic security. That is why it is so disturbing to a qualified speech therapist to hear such statements as “It's no use getting speech therapy for this patent: she will regain her speech in a couple of years” or “We have not found speech therapy of any help in these cases” when we know it has never been tried. We realize that there is some excuse for ignorance about the use of speech therapy in Brisbane, where speech therapists are so few in number, but even so a change of mind in some quarters would be desirable.