Communication

Sixty-seven percent of acute stroke patients are admitted with speech or communication deficits. These include aphasia (also known as dysphasia), which is the impaired ability to talk, read, write or understand others when they speak; dyspraxia of speech, which is the impaired planning and sequencing of the muscles used speaking; and dysarthria, which is weakness in the muscles used for speaking, leading to slurred or unclear speech. Speech pathologists use many different interventions to help stroke survivors, depending on the specific deficit.

For current research and evidence-based recommendations see our Clinical Guidelines.