Rehabilitation of the communicatively impaired stroke patient.

The stroke patient who has lost the ability to communicate has lost more than the ability to talk. To one degree or another, he has lost the ability to understand his environment, the ability to structure his thought process internally in a logical and meaningful order, and the ability to formulate language in a logical and meaningful order. The ability to structure one's thoughts and ideas internally, as well as the ability to communicate them to others, are intrinsic factors in an individual's ability to motivate himself to establish a goal and to pursue the acquisition of that goal. Therefore, the successful physical rehabilitation of the stroke patient with a communication disorder rests heavily upon an understanding and a resolution of his communication problem.