One of the ways that patients can practice their speech is through dysarthria groups, which are essentially where patients with the same speech problems meet up to talk about something they like or to practice learning to talk together using programmed speech exercises. An example of these exercises includes breathing techniques to train our diaphragms to expand and contract to synthesize speech. Patients are asked to both inhale and exhale their breath during this exercise and take notice of how their diaphragms move when they are breathing. When we inhale the lung expands and the diaphragms push downwards t allow the lungs t increase its size to hold the air in. When we exhale, our lungs will contract and the diaphragms would contract as well pushing the lungs upwards to push out all the air. it's at this moment of exhalation that we use the escaping air from the lungs to form our voice and create speech. In most breathing exercises, patients are often asked to mirror each other to see if they have followed the right breathing steps needed to talk and to correct one another if they made a mistake.
In some cases, patients are asked to make an "aaaaa" sound when they exhale to strengthen their vocal cords so that they can amplify their voice volume much better when they talk or that they are asked to take a deep breath before reading a small text on a piece of paper or book. These exercises help improve not only speech but also reading comprehension, which is essential for someone experiencing aphasia. So to anyone out there who have slurred speech and difficulty reading or articulating a coherent conversation then this group is for you. If you've never been to a dysarthria group before then it's best that you prepare yourself by having a topic prepared that you could talk to your mates during the meetup. Some topic suggestions would be on your favorite hobbies, food, vacation destinations, and even movies or TV shows. As previously discussed in my last post, I went into the city to watch Doctor Strange with my mum. This excursion can be used as a topic of discussion that you can ask your friends at the group about. therefore it would be beneficial if you prepare yourself with some topic before coming in.
Besides improving speech, these groups also build a support community for those facing depression after an injury. most of the time you re free to express your problems and worries to anyone at the group, one of the best way to get your problems or feelings of anxiety of your chest. This helps build bonds between you and your friends at the group and you won't feel alone afterward. The group also prepares you for the real world when you are fully discharged from the hospital and back to society. Your new friends in this group can role play as your relatives so you can practice what you'd like to say to them when you actually see them. If you're a business orientated person, the group gives you the chance for networking and you can add new people in your business contacts that you can use to further expand your business activities once you're out. Some of the greatest friendships or business partnerships happen in the most unlikely places, so why not give it a go?
Dysarthria group is also a great way for entertainment if you're always stuck in your room with no one to talk to or play games with then the group offers you the chance to do so. Most of the time, patients are allowed to bring board games or cards that they could play with the other patients, an example would be Blackjack, UNO, and cards against humanity. Chess is also another great game for patients as it trains them to think ahead of what will happen and to devise a strategy to defeat the opponent. You could say that chess is the perfect brain game for those willing to improve their cognitive planning skills, something that not a lot of patients could do after a brain injury so chess can help train these skills.
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