Librarian

Library / Library of Congress

A librarian wrote in with a speech therapy question: he has a patron who has pretty strong aphasia, or loss of language. The patron likes movies, so the library staff try to help him select them.

"Do you know is there a list of vocabulary that staff can use to aid him? For example, he will say 'world, 1, 2, 3, 4, you know, come on! Me!' We try to clarify by asking, 'scifi? Documentary? Series? South America?' Many times he gets frustrated and leaves. And help that you can offer or resources that you can point me to would be very appreciated."

When I had aphasia, I often wrote things down. I don't know if that is an option for this library patron. Maybe some crowd sourcing here? Any patients or speech therapists with helpful ideas?