A stroke can affect more than just your movement. For some people, a stroke can affect speech, making it harder to communicate with loved ones or express their needs.
For stroke survivors with verbal dyspraxia – a condition in which the brain knows what it wants to say but struggles to coordinate the muscle movements needed to produce words and sounds – life can become frustrating and isolating.
Speech and language therapy is an important part of stroke rehabilitation, and melodic therapy is one approach that may help some stroke patients regain their voice as part of their rehabilitation program.
How can a stroke affect your speech?
A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted. This can damage brain tissue, and, depending on which part of the brain is affected, can impact various areas of the mind, body and emotions.
Speech can be one of the effects of a stroke, bridging the gap between the mind, where your brain knows what it wants to say, and the body, as the brain to muscle connection has broken down. Also known as apraxia of speech, acquired verbal dyspraxia is a motor-planning disorder that makes it difficult to plan and coordinate the movements needed to produce speech.
Even the most familiar phrases, such as greeting a loved one or asking for something you need, can be difficult.
For those affected by verbal dyspraxia, speech and language therapy can help people practice the movements needed for speech and improve their ability to coordinate them.
How can music help?
Music and speech both involve complex processes in the brain. Melodic therapy uses pitch, rhythm and patterns as a form of speech therapy to help patients work on words and phrases.
By turning language into a melodic structure, the therapy provides an alternative way of practicing sound production. It aims to make speech exercises more engaging through the repetition of familiar phrases, making it easier to include these exercises into daily routines.
Embedding meaningful, everyday words and phrases into a melodic and rhythmic structure may help some people improve their coordination of the movements involved in speech.
Melodic therapy at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
To support Arabic-speaking patients with acquired verbal dyspraxia, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's Neurological Institute has introduced melodic therapy, a free Arabic-language rehabilitation support tool.
The playlist features everyday Arabic words and phrases, set to melodies and rhythms, and short videos combine sound design with animated elements and on-screen lyrics to help guide users through the phrases.
Dr. Victoria Mifsud, a stroke specialist from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Neurological Institute, says, “Rehabilitation is a critical part of stroke care. It can help patients to regain lost skills, rebuild confidence and independence, and return as fully as possible to the lives they knew before their stroke. Melodic therapy is a support tool that combines cultural relevance and simplicity with therapeutic principles, delivered in a way that can support patients and families as they continue their recovery.
The tool was developed by speech and language therapists, stroke specialists, sound designers, and engineers, and aims to make additional speech exercises engaging, culturally relevant, and easy to integrate into daily routines. For many people, stroke rehabilitation continues after they leave hospital. Continuing to practise at home and between appointments can be an important part of working towards your rehabilitation goals.”
Rehabilitation beyond the hospital
For patients with speech difficulties, being able to practise familiar words and phrases at home can help them work towards communicating basic needs and once again interacting with the people around them.
Melodic therapy is an additional resource that aims to complement professional speech and language therapy by giving patients an enjoyable, accessible tool.
It's important to remember that recovery is individual and the most appropriate rehabilitation plan will depend on your individual communication needs, the difficulties you experience and clinical assessment.
How can I access melodic therapy?
Melodic therapy is a free digital resource for Arabic-speaking patients and their families. It can be accessed through Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's YouTube and Spotify channels.
If you or a loved one has experienced a stroke with speech difficulties, speak to your healthcare team about the most appropriate rehabilitation options. A speech and language specialist can advise whether melodic therapy may be a useful addition to your rehabilitation program.