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😺 Why it's hard to say "kitten"

Published about 15 hours ago • 1 min read

When people with aphasia can't get words out, they often feel silly. Or stupid.

It can bring on a whole range of emotions: frustration, sadness, confusion, anxiety, anger, embarrassment, and more. 😭

For some patients and family members, it can be helpful to explain word retrieval, so they understand that saying words is actually a complex process.

Let's take the word "kitten" for example:

I often start by reassuring them... "You don't have to memorize everything on here. I just want to show you how complicated it is to say a word."

  • First, the concept forms: a baby animal that meows and has pointy ears, whiskers, and fur
  • Then, we map that concept to grammar: it's a single, countable noun
  • We also need the sounds of the word: /’kÉŞt.ən/; two syllables, stress on the first
  • Then, we need to make sure the sounds are in the right order: not "nitten," or "kintin," or "kitchen"... but rather, "kitten"
  • Then, we need the correct mouth movements and timing: our mouth, tongue, lips, and vocal cords need to move in the right ways, at the right times, to say the word out loud
When a patient sees these steps, word finding difficulty stops feeling like a personal failure and starts feeling like a complicated neurological task – because it is!

A huge part of speech therapy is counseling, education, and encouragement. Technology cannot replace the human connection we have with our patients. 🫶

But technology can help with the rest.

If time constraints, productivity standards, or insurance limits have you racing through sessions, let the Virtual Rehab Center take the prep off your plate.

You get functional, research-based, updated materials that are ready to go.

Which gives you extra time to do what you do best: explaining, reassuring, reading the patient's frustration in real time, training communication partners, and working on strategies.

There are 7 word-finding treatments, including Semantic Feature Analysis, VNeST-inspired sentence building, Phonological Components Analysis, and video-based action naming.

Plus, you can assign any of these for unlimited home practice. This is included in your membership and free for your patients! 🙌

Free for 21 days. Credit card required. Cancel anytime with one click.

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All the best,
​-Megan

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P.S. A few more resources to help in your sessions:
1️⃣ What SLPs Need to Know: Anomia – a clinical overview for SLPs
2️⃣ Word-Finding Strategies for Aphasia – a patient-facing guide with tips for how to communicate when words get stuck

Tactus Therapy

We're a speech therapy software company making evidence-based treatment for adults with stroke, brain injury, and other conditions more accessible.

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