Have you ever been told that progress stops at a certain point? That once you're months or years post-stroke or brain injury, you've gotten as far as you're going to get? The science tells a different story. Brains can re-wire and adapt long after an injury. Here are a few things that help: Repetition β doing something over and over strengthens pathways in the brain (our apps are a one-time purchase that gives you unlimited practice!) Intensity β this can be either the number of times you do...
13 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hello! I love May, because this is when the rest of the world gets a small glimpse into why this work matters so much to us. To celebrate, I wanted to share something I love and return to myself: a collection of books, documentaries, and films about people living with the disorders we treat every day. I first put this list together because I wanted something to hand to a patient or family member to help them feel seen, or to help them understand what their person is going through β in a way...
13 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
May is Speech-Language-Hearing Month, which means it's time to celebrate every SLP, patient, and caregiver doing the hard work of recovery. β₯οΈ As a special "thank you", you can get the lowest prices of the year on ALL Tactus Therapy apps from now until May 15! π https://tactustherapy.com/apps/ Shop the Sale Already own some Tactus apps? You might be surprised by this deal... On iOS, the App Store tracks what you've already purchased. If you own apps that are part of a bundle, tap "Complete My...
18 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hi there, Last week I shared something on social media that got 475+ likes, 214 saves, and 102 people sent it directly to someone they love. Maybe you need to hear this, too. β₯οΈ See the full post on Facebook or Instagram The word isn't missing. The road to it is blocked. The good news is that brains can heal. Roads can get cleared. Sometimes new roads get built around the damage. It can feel hard at first, because these "new roads" start as gravel pathways. Yes, they still get to the word......
22 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Every word-finding error your patient makes is guiding you toward diagnosis and treatment. 'Banana' for 'apple' = semantic breakdown'Amble' for 'apple' = phonological breakdownBoth in the same session = mixed anomia Read more about anomia in our What SLPs Need to Know article. Once you know where the breakdown is, clinical decision-making gets easier. π And that's exactly what these two new handouts in the Virtual Rehab Center are designed to help with: π SLP Cheat Sheet: Anomia Treatments β...
22 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hi! π There's a new article covering anomia on the Tactus website. And while there's a lot of great info, three findings kept stopping me in my tracks... https://tactustherapy.com/speech-therapy-anomia-word-finding-retrieval-aphasia/ 1οΈβ£ First: SFA isn't just SFA anymore. Two recent studies added cognitive components. One study paired it with executive function training, and another with working memory. Both showed gains beyond naming, including discourse and quality of life. π Sample sizes...
29 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
In my last email, I left you with a mystery. Grandma. Raccoon. Garage. Our patient was trying to tell a story. We had some nouns, but desperately needed a verb. (Missed the last email? π Read it here.) Well, we finally have an answer... Grandma was trying to trap the raccoon! And now we know, because Strengthening Verb Networks is live in the Virtual Rehab Center. π Strengthening Verb Networks is based on VNeST principles: generating agents and patients for a verb to strengthen its semantic...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
In non-fluent aphasia, nouns tend to dominate verbal communication. It makes sense. They're concrete, visible, and easy to picture. But then your patient tries to tell you something:βGrandma. Raccoon. Garage.β Wait, what?!I need a verb. Immediately. Did Grandma feed the raccoon? Befriend the raccoon? Trap him? Name him? π§ Why verbs are harder "Apple" is a simple object. You can draw it, hold it, picture it instantly. "Kick" refuses to sit still. It's a soccer ball flying through the air, a...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Your brain keeps two records of everything you read. One stores the gist. This is the meaning, the shape of it, what it was roughly about. The other stores the verbatim trace: the actual words, the specific details, the data point in the third paragraph. The gist is durable. It sticks around, gets consolidated into long-term memory, and becomes part of what you "know." The verbatim trace is fragile. It starts degrading almost immediately. To be fair, it's supposed to. Retaining every word of...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 1 min read