I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
Why Attention Deserves Your Attention in Aphasia Rehab
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When it comes to aphasia, we tend to focus on language rather than cognition. But did you know that research suggests almost ALL people with aphasia have impaired attention compared to those without a brain injury? 🤯 What's more, people with impaired attention do worse in therapy. It's difficult to learn to use communication strategies if you don’t have the attention to support learning in the first place. 😕 But here's the good news: treating attention may improve language outcomes on its own, and treating both language and attention gives us the best results. 😊 The problem is that assessing and treating attention is hard enough when language is intact, but what about when aphasia is present? Working around language deficits to assess and treat attention is a challenge that deserves its own deep dive. 🔎 That’s why we've put together a brand-new blog for you: What SLPs Need to Know About Attention & Aphasia. 🧠📝 Complete with references and a summary handout! 🥳
Treating Attention & Aphasia in the Virtual Rehab CenterLooking for a way to target sustained attention in the clinic and for at-home practice? The Virtual Rehab Center’s Visual Search treatment is a great place to start—it automatically increases in complexity as your patient progresses! 🖥️ The Managing Attention strategy module is also aphasia-friendly, with short sentences and picture support. In addition to these interactive treatments, the Tactus Virtual Rehab Center offers a variety of SLP and patient-friendly PDF handouts on attention and aphasia strategies, free homework, and more! 💕 🚀 Try the Virtual Rehab Center for FREE: tactustherapy.com/rehab Thanks for paying attention to the research and adapting your assessment and treatment plans to help your patients with aphasia achieve the best possible outcomes. We’re here to help you tackle complex attention issues every step of the way! 🧠 👉 Start with our free guide to Treating Attention & Aphasia: https://tactustherapy.com/attention-and-aphasia-what-slps-need-to-know/ All the best, Megan P.S. Did you know? You can download dozens of PDF handouts in the Resource Vault of the Virtual Rehab Center, including a summary of our Attention & Aphasia guide and aphasia-friendly information about attention! P.P.S. This is the second installment in our new "What SLPs Need to Know" series focused on cognitive & communication disorders. First was all about attention. Next month we'll bring you information about auditory comprehension, and a new way to target it in therapy. Stay tuned! |
Megan @ Tactus Therapy
I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
Hi Reader, Ever turned to your SLP bestie and said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” (...SOAP notes wrote themselves? ...patients got real-time feedback on their speech? ...therapy was more like real life?) Yeah, same. So we decided to take those “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” ideas, combine them with evidence-based practices, and make them a reality. Because making our work easier while improving patient outcomes is what Tactus is all about. 🎙️ Instant Feedback Through Speech Recognition Wouldn’t it be...
Hi Reader, I’ve been talking a lot lately about new treatments, resources, and features in the Virtual Rehab Center. But you might be wondering… exactly what is the Virtual Rehab Center and how is it different from the Tactus apps? 🤔 Great questions! Let me start by telling you how they’re alike: Both give you digital interactive treatments to help your patients. Both have evidence-based therapy exercises to maximize impact. Both are affordable, easy to use, and designed by SLPs for SLPs. I...
"Aphasia is a loss of language, not a loss of intellect." We know this is true. Many people with aphasia have no problems with other thinking skills, like memory or planning. It's only an issue of communication. 💬 Aphasia is caused by damage to the brain, usually by a stroke or head injury. 🧠 However, brain damage can also cause cognitive problems. Especially early on. 💭 When researchers tested people with aphasia, they found that almost ALL of the people with aphasia had problems with...