When I first started about my aphasia, it was driving me crazy. I knew there were words, but there was nothing to add to anyone. I could not read any of the books to read since I had a stroke. I took out Audible and got David Silva, “The Orders.” It was from my stories of Gabriel Allon. Whenever I told him about what I was reading about, my name only said Germany. I am from the United States. I spent a few years in Germany. I also had some time in Europe. I could not list anyone else. Now six months have gone by, and I still start with Germany and goes to the others to remember. Israel, England, Italy, Austria, Ireland, and others. Some days I can see some, others I don’t. Sometimes I start with Wikipedia, and it starts with one and gets some more questions. My therapy told me about Verbal Fluency.
“Verbal fluency tests are a kind of psychological test in which participants have to produce as many words as possible from a category in a given time (usually 60 seconds). I still remember that my therapy in Cape Cod asked me to listen to “animals” just 2 months after the stroke. I could not think of anything. Then after a few minutes, I remembered one. It immediately to be the other ones that I have been doing flashcards with Becky. I was able to get to 5 animals. I was devastated that this was awful. My therapy told me it was great. She explained that I went to the animals for a 1-month review. I had two incompetent animals.
It does with me looking at photography I have on my pictures I have taken over many years. As I start to look at one, it starts to try to find the picture, then the people, and then something to say to add. I am trying to use them as I try to continue to keep my brain work.
