I have a patient on my case load who has just had a left hemispheric stroke. As a result she has a lot of weakness on the right side of her face which is affecting the intelligibility of her speech. is there some exercises that can be done to help strengthen these muscles so her articulation can be improved?

Hi Jill,

Often following stroke there is facial muscle weakness or paralysis and dysarthric speech. Although it often difficult to "fix" the muscles in question, there are a few things you can look at. Doing some facial muscle exercises, may not improve the weakness of the effected muscle, but may strengthen other muscles that can compensate to some extent.

Also look at getting your client to slow their speech and have good breath control.

Have you looked at any other compensatory strategies if your client really is unintelligible? A picture communication chart is a simple one, but if their literacy skills are intact, use an alphabet chart. Often by just pointing the first letter of the word they are trying to say can cue the listener in. You also may have the option of some assistive communication technology such as a Lightwriter.

I will be posting more information regarding Dysarthria on the site by the end of February.

Hope that is of some help. Feel free to ask more questions.

Regards Johan