(This is a guest editorial from a local newspaper. It is written by three speech pathologist in response to a letter written to the newspaper from Mrs. Melissa Johnson.)
We recently received a letter from a lady who lives in the community. In her letter she posed a question about her husband who recently suffered a stroke and has been diagnosed with severe Broca’s aphasia with apraxia of speech. I thought that it would be a good idea to ask a professional to answer her question. I thought that it was important for the public to learn about her situation. Here is the letter that we received:
Dear Editor,
My husband, Phillip, recently suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with severe Broca’s aphasia with apraxia of speech. I know a lot of your readers may not know what this is but these disorders impair my husband’s ability to speak and communicate. Phillip has also been diagnosed with limb apraxia that causes him to have trouble coordinating the movements of his arms and legs. Currently Phillip has no way of communicating with me. He can sometimes get a word or two out but I do not always understand exactly what he wants. I want your readers to understand that Phillip still knows what I am saying and understands what is happening but he cannot communicate the way he wants too (Bloom, R.L., & Ferrand, C.T., 1997). Our current problem is that our insurance is denying the claim for an Augmentative Alternative Communication Device (AAC) and we cannot afford to buy one. Phillip’s therapist is working on obtaining a device but what happens if she can’t. I would like to know what are some other options available to my husband to help him communicate. If you would please publish this letter and see if someone could help us. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Melissa Johnson
To answer this question I contacted three speech pathologist who have written this article in response to Mrs. Johnson’s letter. It was a collaborative effort and involved Whitney Casey-Heatherman (Mr. Johnson’s speech pathologist), Jane Doe (a speech pathologist that speacilizes in the treatment of Broca’s aphasia), and John Cline (a speech pathologist who specializes in the treatment of apraxia of speech).
Severe Broca’s aphasia with apraxia is very hard to treat without some form of augmentative communication. Until an AAC is available to your husband we have come up with some solutions. One option would be to make an alphabet board by cutting out different letters or even buying magnetic letters and a magnetic board and allowing your husband to spell out his wants and needs. Another option would be to create a picture book that contained pictures of common objects and common actions. Your husband could then flip to the picture that he wanted. You will need to be patient when using either method due to your husbands limb apraxia. You and Whitney could make this book together and help Phillip use it. If he is having a lot of trouble flipping the pages maybe you could flip the pages for him. Another option is to order a PEC’s system. This may be easier for Phillip to manipulate. Other methods of communication are currently being researched. We will also be looking for other sources to help obtain an AAC for Phillip. If you have any questions contact Phillip’s speech pathologist.
October 28, 2006 at 4:34 pm
1.Voice: The piece is written in several voices. The first voice is that of an editor from a local newspaper. The second voice is of a wife speaking on behalf of her husband who was recently diagnosed with Broca’s aphasia. The third voice is written in the voice of three SLP’S who are giving temporary solutions to help the husband communicate better.
2.Audience: I think the piece is written for families and friends of someone who has aphasia or anyone who is interested in this disorder.
3.Say Back: The wife wants to find other ways to help her husband communicate more effectively with his condition while he is without an AAC. The SLP’s try to give her some possible solutions to help the communication between the husband and wife.
4.Bless: I like the layout and the organization of the editorial. I like that the editor gives a preview paragraph before the letter to the editor and the letter to the wife; it makes the piece very clear and easy to follow. The methods of communication mentioned seemed very clear and easy to understand, which is very helpful to the wife. I like how you talked about limb apraxia, which is another way that the husband’s communication is effected.
5.Address: I think everyone looks good! I noticed some small things such as the word “too” is misspelled in line eight of the letter to the editor. You may want to take a look at the last line in the letter to the editor, to me it seemed a little incomplete (it may be fine, but I thought I would mention it anyway). You talked about the three SLP’s, I think you may need to an ‘s to the end to make it plural (I am not sure if this is right or not, but it seemed like it was singular instead of plural
October 30, 2006 at 6:12 pm
1. Voice: Whose voice is this piece in?
~This piece was written in 5 voices. The three clinicians who responded to the letter, the woman who wrote the letter (Mrs. Johnson), and the editor of the newspaper.
2. Audience: Who is this piece written for?
~This piece is written for someone who may be interested in finding out how they can create some type of augmentative device.
3. Say Back: What do you think the author is saying with this piece?
~I think the author is trying to say that although it would be ideal to have an AAC there are ways to create your own.
4. Bless: Something specific in the piece you can bless.
~I think this is a very interesting way to covney information. It was almost as though you took a section right out of last week’s newspaper. Great job!
5. Address: Something specific in the piece the author should address.
~I agree with Erica that it may be a good idea to include the names of the SLPs. Other than that there were a few errors, such as “reader’s” should be “readers” in the second section, “too” should be “to” in the second section, “husbands” should be “husband’s” in the last section. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
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