I have a few questions for any DUers who help with the rehab of stroke victims...

[TheDebbieDee]

I'm not a stroke victim, I'm not a rehab therapist and I don't know any stroke victims. I'm just trying to accumulate some information and I'm hoping that out of the several hundred thousand members of DU, a few of you are employed or have some expertise in the rehabilitation of stroke victims. I hope you will share your knowledge with me...

1] Is it common knowledge with those in the physical rehab industry that similar functions (like speech and singing) can be carried out by different parts of the brain?

2] Is it a common practice to try to teach stoke victims to sing when it is found that they are no longer able to speak or to dance when it is found that they are no longer able to walk?

3] For a patient who may be aphasic, is it common practice to try to sing instructions to a stroke patient as opposed to speaking them?

I know nothing about strokes or stroke rehab but I have come across a few articles about the progress some stroke victims have made when using these outside-the-box methods and I wondered how common it was, in 2017, to use some of these alternative methods.

Or maybe if these alternative therapy methods are now commonplace, I would like to know that they are and for how many years these alternative therapy methods have been in use. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge with me...

I have X-posted in DU Health...

[Tanuki]

1. You may find this helpful

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780359/

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Thx. But I was more interested in finding out how commonly this

therapy is used with stroke victims who are aphasic. I'd like to know if these therapies are now mainstream or if they are considered cutting edge.

In 2017, do most stroke victims receive this therapy or is it still in the experimental stages?

[Tanuki]

3. I'm not sure if you looked at the article but Melodic Intonation Therapy

has been around as an organized treatment program since 1973. It is only useful for a defined subset of aphasic patients and is therefore not appropriate for "most" individuals with aphasia. There is an extensive body of research on Melodic Intonation Therapy which you can investigate by googling.

[uppityperson]

4. I've done this on my own, math/music are in one part of the brain, language functions in another

It has helped with stuttering, and other speech issues, helping in education with memorization to rhythms, it makes sense it may be useful post stroke. I don't know how common it is, will ask around next week. I am in home care, with people in facilities post rehab too. It's an interesting idea, thank you.

[TheDebbieDee]

7. Thanks, I'd really like to know...

[blueinredohio]

5. I'm not a therapist but I do know years ago (in the nineties) my ex mother-in-law had a

stroke on her right side which affects speech. During therapy they had her sing but she couldn't talk.

[TheDebbieDee]

6. I've read similar stories regarding stroke victims several years ago...

Reading about Mel Tillis' death today jarred my memory because I remembered that he was a well-known speaker who stuttered except when he sang...

And I wondered how commonplace this type of therapy was or if it was now mainstream or considered wacky and fake healing...