Any ideas to help a stroke victim communicate?

September 21, 2007 5:34 AM

I need an economical way for a stroke victim to communicate via a simple keyboard or typewriter, or other simple method.

A family member had a stroke and is immobilized on the right side, and has rheumatoid arthritis on the left side. He can say yes/no, but has no way to communicate any real thoughts, and we're all sure he has something to say. :)

We're looking for a cheap, easy way for him to basically hold a pencil or stylus, and tap a keyboard. I'm thinking of a kid's laptop toy, but I don't have a lot of time to look - the "solution" needs to travel with my brother in law early tomorrow AM. I also have considered a small whiteboard but I'm not sure there is enough motor control for writing (he is out of state).

Anyone have experience with this? Any suggestions? My thanks ahead of time.

posted by disclaimer to health & fitness (11 comments total)

Maybe a large-button keyboard attached to a cheap computer? I don't know where you could get one tomorrow, but maybe it could get shipped to where your brother-in-law is heading?
posted by procrastination at 5:40 AM on September 21, 2007

The neo is a small electronic word processor that also has a talk out loud feature. You can't get it by tomorrow, but it might be worth looking into for future visits.

For now I would look on craigslist if you have one if your area to see if there's any really cheap computer. Or call a nearby university student disability services office and see if they have anything they would loan for a short period while you get setup.
posted by ejaned8 at 6:33 AM on September 21, 2007

What ejaned8 said - an inexpensive used laptop might suffice for now. You could use any text app that's on it for him to type - just start a new e-mail message or document and type in there.

A cheap PC may not have much on it - you can download OpenOffice Writer or something like that for free to provide white space to type on. The good thing is that you can choose an older model, as you don't really need much HD space, RAM, or processing power.

If you find a better solution or it just doesn't work out, you can resell it pretty easily.
posted by altcountryman at 7:45 AM on September 21, 2007

The cheap word processor/laptop sounds like what you want, but if you can't get your hands on one, I have also seen a low-tech solution. I was in line at a coffee shop behind a guy who was non-verbal and wheelchair-bound, and he was carrying around a piece of cardboard that had the alphabet printed on it and also yes/no, thanks, hello/goodbye, and a few other simple phrases. He used it to order by pointing at the letters/words and it seemed to work fine for communicating with the barista.
posted by clavicle at 7:54 AM on September 21, 2007

What clavicle is talking about is something like an alphabet board.

See printable samples of alphabet and word boards here.
posted by flug at 8:34 AM on September 21, 2007

Do a Google search on Adaptive Technology and you'll find a bunch of specialists in this sort of thing. there are plenty of organizations/non-profits/consultancys that develop/adapt things for exactly this purpose. A lot of it is directed at the visually impaired but there's also quite a bit for people with various physical disabilities.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 9:49 AM on September 21, 2007

Any chance your family member knows morse code?
posted by enfa at 9:52 AM on September 21, 2007

for the moment, i think a cheap old laptop will do the trick.

for a stylus, the easiest thing would probably be to bind a pencil eraser-side-down to your relative's hand. that may just take some trial and error, but you can probably use something like a wrist sweatband or a hair scrunchie to hold the pencil in place.
posted by thinkingwoman at 12:11 PM on September 21, 2007

Most people who have a stroke that causes right sided paralysis and loss of the ability to speak have had a stroke affecting the left hemisphere of the brain. This part of the brain does more than just speech - it is responsible for interpreting and using all kinds of language.

If that's what happened to him, I think it's likely that he won't be able to say much more with a keyboard than he can with his mouth. Have you discussed this with his neurologist?
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:16 PM on September 21, 2007

I have had a stroke and want to second what ikkyu2 is saying. I did use a Big Keys for a long time after to help me type (my fine motor control was messed up), but it would have been a pointless endeavor before the expressive aphasia healed. This was the first thing I was able to write somewhat coherently. This is more what it was like when I couldn't find the right words to begin with.

Just a side note-- please don't finish his sentences for him. You're not helping. Just sit patiently until he gets it all out, if/when he is able to speak again.
posted by astruc at 1:04 PM on September 21, 2007

Thanks everyone for your answers - they're all helpful. He is coherent and he is locked in, can't really verbalize what he wants, but is quite lucid and he's definitely in there and has "opinions".

He has a 20 day rehab ahead of him, and for now, a wordboard is fine. We got his grandkids together and they made him one with THEIR ideas for what Poppa might want to say (puppies? Hm.) - then his kids got together and made one for what he WILL want to say (an upraised finger, a bottle of vodka, a picture of a hot girl), - combined those with the hospital ones and he has quite a vocabulary.
When we get a better idea of his long-term condition, we'll take the rest of these ideas a step farther.

Thanks again!
posted by disclaimer at 6:03 PM on September 22, 2007