When someone has aphasia, it might seem like they're forgetting the words. You might be tempted to explain word-finding difficulty as a "memory problem." But aphasia is a bit more complicated. When a word won't come out, it's still there. It's not forgotten. The problem is retrieval: pulling it out on demand, under time pressure, or in a specific moment. Our brain has to go through several steps to say a word, and any part of that process can be disrupted by aphasia. Let's take the word...
1 day agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Patients with apraxia of speech (AOS) often have aphasia too. So they finally break through the word-finding wall ("I know the word I want!") only to hit a second one: motor planning. They know what they want to say, but the same word comes out three different ways β or not at all. Apraxia of speech is frustrating for your patients, and it can be intimidating to treat, but it's a lot more manageable with the right tools. For ready-made handouts, exercises and free HEPs for patients, try the...
8 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
A lot of word-finding therapy leans on confrontation naming: show a picture and have your patient say what it is. But what about your higher-level aphasia patients? The ones who breeze through picture naming, but stall in real conversation, hunting for the word they know they know. Or your cognitive-communication patients, where the goal isn't really naming at all... it's reasoning, retrieval, and executive function all working together. A few things worth keeping in mind for these patients:...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hi Reader, When time is short, it's easy to fall back on the same goals you've written dozens of times before rather than starting from scratch. But that isn't always what's best for your patients. That's why we put together a free Medical SLP Goal Bank for busy clinicians like you. π It includes: 100+ functional long-term goals for communication, cognition, and swallowing A fill-in formula with ready-made options for SMART short-term goals Tips for writing meaningful, patient-centered goals...
22 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Eating and drinking are basic human needs. We need food and water to survive. But food is also how we connect. You grab coffee with a friend, celebrate with birthday cake, toast to a new job, and linger at the table long after dinner's done. So much of life happens around food. Now imagine every bite and every sip comes with a risk. That's life with dysphagia β and for millions of people, it's a daily reality. June is Dysphagia Awareness Month. This month, let's raise awareness for a...
29 days agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Most people have never heard the word "aphasia" until it impacts their life directly. Unfortunately, the less the world understands aphasia, the harder daily life is for the people living with it. June is Aphasia Awareness Month. This month, let's help raise awareness and advocate for communication access for all. β₯οΈ π§ By the numbers Approximately 1 in 3 stroke survivors develops aphasia. Aphasia affects more people than Parkinson's or Multiple Sclerosis. Aphasia affects over 2.5 million...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
The gap between structured therapy performance and real-world communication can be one of the most frustrating for patients. They have WNL standardized scores, intact naming, normal sentence-level production, and auditory comprehension that holds up in structured tasks. But still, they come to your sessions stressed and frustrated. They couldnβt understand their friends at a restaurant, lost track of a conversation with their spouse, or completely blanked on a word mid-conversation. π΅π« Letβs...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
I was looking back at ASHA's 2025 SLP Health Care Survey, and a few numbers stuck with me. Over HALF of medical SLPs said they perform unpaid work. Nearly 1 in 5 SLPs performs unpaid work every. single. day. The top barriers to providing optimal clinical care? Administrative tasks (53%) and productivity demands + lack of time (42%). Yikes. π΅π« I don't have a fix for the whole system. But I do think about this a lot. What would make this job more sustainable? What would give you back even a...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Procrastinators, rejoice! π We get it β life gets busy. That's why we've extended our sale through Monday, May 18. All Tactus speech therapy apps are still discounted, and these are the lowest prices of the year. Find them in the App Store or Google Play β no special codes required. Regular and sale prices in your currency π https://tactustherapy.com/apps Helpful Tips: π±The iOS bundles offer the biggest savings, and the more you own, the bigger your discount. If you've already purchased one...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 1 min read