Communication board,
easy-to-read nametags helpful for stroke survivors
Tuesday, February 28,
2007 -- Natalie Miller
As a restorative care aide, it’s sometimes
admittedly difficult for Kathy Herron to interact
with a stroke survivor who can’t communicate
verbally.
She’s excited about a new tool she obtained
while attending a recent stroke education workshop
in Peterborough.
Herron sees the communication board as a particularly
useful tool. Called an aphasia board, the board
contains pictures of common objects that residents
can point to if they can’t verbally communicate
their needs. The board contains pictures depicting
objects like a telephone, emotions like a face
with tears or one with a smile, and a picture
of a family.
“Sometimes it’s so hard” to
communicate, Herron says. She says the picture
board in conjunction with the other communication
tips she learned will provide for “much
better conversation.”
The workshop for long-term care employees in
the Peterborough, Haliburton, Kawartha-Pine Ridge
areas, was led by the Central East Stroke Network.
The education is part of an Ontario-wide stroke
strategy funded by the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term
Care and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario
have worked together to develop a stroke prevention
strategy and make recommendations for emergency
and acute care and rehabilitation.
The report of the Joint Stroke Strategy Working
Group, ‘Towards an Integrated Stroke Strategy’,
was released in June 2000. This report is considered
a roadmap for stroke care in Ontario and includes
15 recommendations for strengthening prevention
efforts and establishing a co-ordinated system
of stroke care, according to the Heart and Stroke
Foundation.
Leya Bennett, regional stroke rehabilitation
co-ordinator, says communication was a hot topic
at the workshop. Effective two-way communication
is important when supporting a person who has
experienced a stroke, she says.
“That’s such a big part of quality
of life.”
There are several ways you can demonstrate helpful
communication according to the Heart and Stroke.
Some suggestions include:
• Ask how the survivor would like to be
addressed. Does the survivor prefer being called
by his or her first name or as Mr., Mrs. or Ms.?
• Introduce yourself and your purpose in
being there. You may have to introduce yourself
many times as the survivor may see many faces
in a day. Large easy-to-read name tags can be
helpful.
• Deal with private matters privately.
A survivor’s bowel routine is not their
roommate’s or friend’s business.
• Use discretion in conversations in the
presence of others (friends, family, other health
providers) regardless of the survivor’s
communication impairments.
• Avoid talking about the survivor in his
presence unless he is part of the conversation.
• Be calm, direct and positive in all communication.
• Help the survivor to have normal interactions
by adjusting the environment to compensate for
changes resulting from the stroke.
For more communication tips follow this link.
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