What activities do you like to do? It’s actually a really important question when it comes to your aphasia therapy because building your improvement plan around activities you already like makes therapy a little easier to embrace. In this last installment on Ellayne Ganzfried and Mona Greenfield’s new book, The Word Escapes Me, we’ll be talking about activity-based therapy.

pair activities like scrabble with speech therapy

Do Activities You Like

Rob, a stroke survivor writing about his experience in the book, admits that he is “working hard to improve my aphasia by reading books like Game of Thrones while listening to audiotapes” (p. 98). Fran, another stroke survivor, states, “I would listen to music and try to say the lyrics, trying to get my speech back through music” (p. 97).

By choosing activities they already enjoy — reading books and listening to music — and working with words inside those activities, speech therapy becomes an extension of something enjoyable. It’s still hard work, but it’s hard work spent doing something they each already like.

So what are your favourite activities and is there a way to work with words within those activities? Whether its discussing current events, singing, or watching movies, everyone has something they already enjoy that they can use as a springboard into speech practice.

Do Activities From Childhood

When I was a kid, my favourite thing were text-based video games like Zork. Playing those games taught me how to spell. I lost track of those games until about five years ago when I read an article in Wired magazine. Suddenly my favourite thing was back!

What favourite activity from childhood could you revisit in the name of speech therapy? Did you love puzzles but haven’t made the time to put them together over the last few years? Return to puzzles, talking about the picture taking shape or the colour of the piece as you put it together.

Peruse the board game section at the toy store and pick up a copy of Clue, Life, or Scrabble. Use them to not only practice reading and speaking but to have a good time while you work hard.

Do Activities You’ve Always Wanted to Do

There’s a running list in my journal of things I want to do or learn if I find time in the future including books I want to read. What is on your list, and do any of the activities naturally pair with speech therapy? Take this time to start a new hobby. It will give you something to look forward to every day while improving your speech at the same time.

What are your favourite activities to pair with speech therapy?

This is the sixth installment of our online book club. You can still read the first post, second post, third post, fourth post, or fifth post in the series, and you can enter the conversation at any time.

Join this online book club! Copies of The Word Escapes Me can be purchased through all online book retailers including Amazon. You can also purchase the book directly from Balboa Press, and discounts are offered on bulk orders.

We’ll be starting a new book next week!

Image: Lucy Downey via Flickr via Creative Commons license