Hi, my Dad had a stroke 3 months ago.
Along with hemianopia his biggest frustration is problems with reading. He cannot recognise letters but he can write things down legibly but is unable to read what he has written.
Also he will get a word in his head and every written thing he sees will be that word, or i can then tell him a different word and then he will see that instead.
Does anyone know if this condition has a name?
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Hi Scott, so sorry you have to come at all, but you’ve chosen a good place to start. I’m sure there will be lots of helpful tips and advice to come. Does he have an occupational therapist or his stroke team you could ask for help with.
I too struggled with the reading and writing only, so it was just a matter of time, persistence, and practice practice practice, for it to come back onboard. The thing you have to understand is his attention spans to anything in life are going to be short as the brain has a lot of work on its hands to repair damage and maintain functionality as well as learning new ways round, and so will take a lot out of him too. Just something to bare in mind when helping him.
One suggestion I could make is audio books alongside a physical copy of the book for him to follow along with. Which has brought me to the thought of the talking baby books pressing word buttons to hear the spoken word. Which leads me to the thought that there is probably a link for things like that somewhere on this website. I’m new to the forum myself so haven’t seen everything yet.
Good luck and remain positive, things will improve with every month that passes. What seems like an issue won’t be six months or a year from now. Spare any frustrations you may feel, be patient, give time. It’s not until you’ve had a stroke that you realise you are not in charge of your brain, your brain is in charge of you. It has its own schedule, works at its own pace, and has a lot to do right now, it is the surgeon and not to be rushed.
Thanks for the reply EmeraldEyes. My Dad doesn’t read a lot, maybe a TV guide or a car magazine. He is just confused that now when i take him on the grocery shop he “reads” the same thing on every label and item he looks at.
The therapy/stroke team signed off on him about a month ago.
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Maybe go to his gp surgery, they could probably help, put you in touch with whoever is local.
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It’s aphasia, and it’s condition can take many forms whether to do with understanding language, speech or recognition. As long as it is a post stroke symptom, it can be rehabilitated using cognitive and practical exercises.
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Hi Rups, thank you. I was aware of Aphasia as a recognition thing where objects are confused ( Dad was getting spectacles and his comb mixed up ) but i didn’t know of it like this.
I have a local stroke communication group i was preparing to get in touch with.
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I have heard of that specific issue, and was talking about it to someone the other day. My partner’s father had a brain tumour and he had that exact issue. He would call his dog but the dog wouldn’t come because he was calling it by a different name. However, I think it fits into the aphasia profile. I think Jill Bolte-Taylor had a similar issue with words and she writes about that in her book, My Stroke of Insight.
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Hello,
Bit of an update.
I contacted a Stroke association Communication support coordinator who came out to visit yesterday.
She had a good chat with my Dad, did some alphabet identification and word exercises . Also asked him if reading would improve his confidence as anything he needs to do involving reading at the moment is beyond him and he feels a bit useless .
The upside to this visit is hopefully an assessment with a speech therapist and possible visits from an association volunteer who can do some reading exercises with my Dad ( that i can continue ) and some supported trips to the local shops.
I have been doing this , but unguided in any learning method.
So, hopefully some progress.
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