Games console helps woman who suffered stroke to speak again
Didn't know whether to post this here or under a health forum really but decided on here.
A WOMAN who suffered a major stroke has learned to speak again – thanks to playing games on her Nintendo DS. Linda Learmouth, 48, of Chelmsford
Avenue, Grimsby, had a serious stroke five years ago while she and her husband, Kelvin, 59, were living in Spain.
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As well as leaving her partially paralysed down her right side, devastatingly it also damaged her speech – all she could manage were slurred words
that Kelvin found hard to understand. Following a stroke, early intervention is vital for the best chance of recovery and Linda desperately needed
speech therapy – but they were living in Spain and didn't speak the language. Medical treatment was also too expensive.
"With the interactive pet games, she had to tell the dog to sit and take them on virtual walks. Things she couldn't do in reality. With the Brain
Training she had to practice and get quicker at answering the questions. I thought it might give her some sort of meaning. "When she spoke to the
Nintendo to play games, she had to get it right otherwise it wouldn't understand her and it wouldn't do what she wanted. She had to repeat the same
words over and over again and if she didn't say it properly it wouldn't work. "Slowly I saw her speech was coming back."
Posted this as I thought some may find it interesting or useful for them or a loved one.
Now I know it's not particularly healthy to sit on a games console all day but I wonder if this would help children that need speech therapy also?
Obviously not in replace of any professional therapy's but combined maybe.