Expressive Aphasia: Familiar Songs Help Speech Recovery

Expressive aphasia presents a difficult communication issue--both for speaker and listener. Although speech recovery may never be fully complete, communication can certainly be improved. Singing familiar songs is one way to encourage more spoken words and boost disposition at the same time. For this to happen, introducing old songs--ones for which words are automatic--is the way to go.

After my husband suffered a stroke resulting in expressive aphasia, I became aware of what activities appeared to work with regard to speech recovery for him and what didn't appear to work. Although my husband had never been much of a singer before his stroke, I began to notice one very curious thing about his singing ability after the stroke. He could vocalize words attached to music, but not be able to vocalize the same words without the music.

Here's how I first discovered this. While at home, my husband rarely spoke and had difficulty even producing sounds. But while in church, he was able to sing any familiar hymn or chorus--with little trouble. Sounds or words that he otherwise had a difficult time expressing, seemed to flow out unhindered when he was singing a song he knew well.

Listening to well-known songs, such as hymns, Christmas songs, celebration songs, or classics, may actually bring about more speech for an expressive aphasic. Reproducing sounds and words from familiar speech patterns appears to help an aphasic learn how to reproduce those same sounds in new words. At least I'm convinced of this. I've been able to view the benefit of this type of therapy as my husband has made progress with his speech over the past several years.

Here is a short list of familiar songs that my husband was able to sing early in his speech recovery: How Great Thou Art, Fairest Lord Jesus, Amazing Grace, Silent Night, Jesus Loves Me This I Know, Victory in Jesus; and secular songs such as Happy Birthday to You, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Row Row Row Your Boat. These are just a few songs. There are dozens more familiar songs I've not listed.

If you live or work closely with an individual who struggles with an expressive language disorder, why not introduce music? Choose those songs that were familiar to the individual, before he or she suffered a brain injury or stroke. Set your radio to an oldie station or purchase a CD of recognized songs for listening to while in the home or car. You can positively affect speech recovery for an expressive aphasic through use of familiar songs. And at the same time, you can offer a means for lifting his or her spirits.

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