The Sensory Trigger Method

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The Sensory Trigger
TM

• A journey of hope for speech and language
  recovery after stroke or head injury.
• By Barbara Dean Schacker

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The Sensory Trigger

• What is it?
• How does it work?
• The Theory and Research
• Key Elements
• THEN my story
• NOW the challenge continues
• FUTURE a vision of hope

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What is it?

• The Sensory Trigger Method is a way to make new
  pathways in the brain for speech, reading,
  writing and other mental processes after brain
  trauma.
• It is a multisensory learning technique that
  emphasizes the tactile/kinesthetic sensory memory
  system.

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How does it work?

• Compared to the auditory and visual memory
  systems, the kinesthetic/tactile sensory systems
  is the most malleable and has the most widely
  connected neurological channels in the brain.
  The area of the cortex that is devoted to the
  hand is many times larger than any other the area
  including the mouth, eyes, ears, arms, legs, feet
  and other sensory systems. This makes it the best
  channel to develop new pathways in the brain.

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The Theory and Research
We have the most touch receptors on the tips of
our fingers and the tips of our tongue. There is
a direct link between them in the
tactile/kinesthetic (touch) sensory system.
One of the STM Techniques
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The Mirror side of the Brain
The right hand is directly connected to the left
hemisphere Speech Centereven more directly than
either the visual pathways and the auditory
pathways.
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The Mirror side of the Brain
The left hand is directly connected to the right
hemisphere Speech Center, usually considered the
non-dominant or passive Speech Center.
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Pathways are blocked
Depending upon the extent of the damage, the
signals from the visual cortex, the auditory
verbal center and the hand can be blocked from
the dominant Speech Center.
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How Touch Connects to Speech

• \graphic simulation

Pathways from the Wernickes Center, the auditory
speech channel, pass through the Brocas Speech
Center before going out the Speech Motor Channel,
while the pathways from the hand pass back and
forth directly through or near the Speech Motor
Channel.
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The Mirror side of the Brain
On the undamaged side of the brain, the Mirror
side of the Brain, the tactile/kinesthetic
signals from the left hand, the auditory signals
from the mirror Wernikes Center and visual
signals from the Visual memory system pass freely
into the right side speech center.
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Yet every brain is different
Every brain is different and every brain injury
is unique. Left-handed people will have to make
new pathways just like right-handed. In this
case, the left hand can re-set its connection or
dominance with Sensory Trigger techniques.
Mixed-dominant brains can use either hand to make
new pathways.
A reversed dominant brain will use the right hand
to make new pathways
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The Key Elements

• 1. Make a new dominant hand with tactile
  and kinesthetic imprinting and learning
  techniques
• 2. Use the hand connected to the undamaged
  side.
• 3. Make it Intensive. Repeat the same words
  or
• tasks within 48 hours if possible. Daily
  is best.
• 4. Make it Interactive. Use in different
  contexts,
• in real life with different people.
• 5. Plan for a long-term recovery.
• 6. Create a positive environment and
  life-style.
• Learn how not to block their speech.
• 7. Never give up!

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The Key Techniques

• After six to 8 weeks of daily practice new
  neurological connections actually begin to
  connect in the brain and will continue to expand.
  At least 6 weeks of intensive work is
  recommended to start.
• Kinesthetic and tactile techniques include
• 1. Clicking the mouse, pointing with the arrow
• 2. Tracing with pen, pencil or finger
• 3. Learning how to unblock your speech
• 4. Writing and Typing along with speech
• 5. Touching and manipulating
  materials
• 6. Specially-trained Finger or Hand tapping

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How to Unblock Speech

• There are many ways that we unintentionally
  block speech. Learning a different manner of
  speaking and interactive conversation is a
  crucial factor to successfully unblock speech
  and enhance communication.
• People often tend to talk too fast, too loudly,
  interrupt, or talk all at the same time. We
  must avoid distractions like the TV, loud music
  or noise. Auditory and visual distractions can
  take up the mental resources needed to plan and
  initiate speech.

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How to Unblock Speech

• Use the STM. Dont talk too fast. Leave pauses
  for them to respond. A damaged brain takes
  longer to shift processes. Look and focus on each
  others face and mouth. Keep your eyes focused,
  not looking away. Take a deep breath to unblock
  tension. Do the Sensory Trigger when you get
  stuck. Ask questions with simple answers.
• Dont interrupt, talk at the same time or talk
  too loudly. Use a normal tone of voice and
  expression. Be careful that you dont talk for
  them or automatically finish their sentences for
  them. Wait first then give them a clue or cue
  and try again.

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THEN How was it discovered?

• In 1963, my father, Vernon Keller Dean had a
  massive left hemisphere stroke. After 2 years of
  speech therapy, he was diagnosed with
  untreatable global aphasia by the Mayo Clinic.
  
• In 1972, nine years post stroke, I developed
  a picture communication system for him. As an
  artist, I was able to draw over 100 picture
  cards. It was the first picture card
  communication tool for aphasia. He was able to
  follow picture commands and string 3 or 4
  picture cards together to make a sentences.

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How was it developed?

• Being a librarian, I had access to
  information that even many college courses did
  not have. So I began intensive research. I
  studied everything related to speech
  disabilities, mind/brain development and
  language Maria Montessori, Piaget, child
  language development, the evolution of language,
  Braille, American Sign Language, speech therapy
  manuals but most importantbrain research. In
  1972, the split-brain research had just come
  out and after reading everything I could find on
  this, I went to New York University at Stony
  Brook to meet and talk with the scientists who
  were working in a new fieldneurolinguistic
  psychology.

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Researching in New York

• I met with Drs.Michael Gazzaniga, Roger
  Sperry and Norman Geshwin. They very surprised
  at what I had accomplished with my father. No
  one before this time had tried getting a global
  aphasic to communicate with pictures. They were
  intrigued by my picture card communication tool
  and sent me to Boston to present the idea to a
  group working with Howard Gardener.

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Coming Home

• Turning down an invitation to study
  neuro-linguistic psychology at Stony Brook, I
  returned home to work with my father and
  integrate everything I had learned. The
  librarian in me said, Id just be stuck in
  clinical studies, making discoveries and writing
  papers that would just molder on the library
  shelvespapers that few people anyway. I want to
  do something with this!
• Working with my father, I decided he needed
  an approach that did not depend on me or the
  picture cards, one that he could do himself. I
  had also concluded that using his left hand was
  the key to unlock his speech. I gave him a
  picture command to draw. He then drew pictures
  with his left hand, copied words to go with them
  and communicated with my mother in this way.

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Returning Home Again

• I moved to California to find a job while he
  continued working on his own. Before I left, I
  had noticed some changes. My father could now
  laugh at jokes on TV and he was beginning to read
  the newspaper. He was able to repeat the words
  said to him and started to read aloud a few words
  he practiced idea writing and writing everyday in
  his notebook. He was a very self-motivated person
  and worked on this everyday.
• For months he could only repeat a small set
  of words. He seemed to be stuck on a plateau.
  Then one day, a year later a tipping point. He
  drew a picture of the solar system and then said
  his first spontaneous word Mars. My mother
  told me he was saying other new words on his own.
  I took a leave of absence from my job as school
  librarian and took the next flight home. When I
  arrived, I sat down next to my father. He smiled
  at me and said, Amazing!

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My Fathers Recovery

• After that, my father continued to progress
  slowly with words coming back one at time.
  Before he passed away from congestive heart
  failure in 1984, he was able to say over 700
  words. It was enough to go to the store, the
  bank and the post office by himself on the bus.
• He also became an artist with his left hand
  and showed his work in the state capitol
  building. He enjoyed this part of his life and
  regained his self-confidence and dignity.

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The First Talking Software for Aphasia 

• Working with speech pathologists, special
  education teachers, and software programmers I
  carefully designed a multisensory software for
  aphasia.
• The design specification for the software was
  evaluated at Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt
  Island, NY, Speech and Hearing Lab to ensure it
  coincided with speech therapy practice.
• The software and method was tested at U.C. Davis
  Medical Center. Every participant benefited. It
  took 5 years of research and development and
  testing to publish the first program.
• This software program was the first program for
  aphasia and the first to use natural voice
  technology. I received an award from Johns
  Hopkins University in 1991 in their national
  search for new technology applications for the
  disabled.

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Tested at U.C. Davis Medical Center
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NOW Strokefamily.org

• Today I have a web site called Stroke Family.
  I have written and published speech practice kits
  and had much success with it.

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The Whole Speech Practice Kit

• The Kit contains
• The Lets Talk program
• The Speech Bridge program
• Speech Tree sentence-maker
• Core Words talking dictionary
• 3 main guides and e-books
• Many free articles resources
• In addition to the kit, STM can be learned in
  online training sessions .

Over 1600 of the most frequently spoken
words Make your own features in the software
allow for individualization and unlimited
content.
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Success Stories
Since the beginning of my journey and throughout
my career in speech recovery, I have helped
thousands of adults and children regain their
speech, reading and writing with the Sensory
Trigger Method.

Visit StrokeFamily.org to see the
success Stories and to learn more. Contact us
for free information and a free e-book on the
Sensory Trigger.
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The STM Kits and Sessions teach everyone how to
do the Sensory Trigger Method. Expanding the
parameters of speech recovery, it is used in
everyday life and with everyone the person
interacts with.
Using our approach the time frame for speech
recovery is up to two years and beyond. This
breaks out of the 6 month cut-off that insurance
and government programs impose on survivors.
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The Challenge Continues

• On April 2nd of 2008, my husband lost most of
  his left hemisphere as a result of a high-risk
  aorta artery replacement surgery. I worked with
  him with Sensory Trigger Techniques since day
  one, and in 18 months he was able to talk clearly
  in phrases and sentences using right hemisphere
  speech. A writer, he was able to publish his
  second book in 2012.

In the hospital, the neurologist said there would
be no possibility of speech recovery even with
speech therapy.
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Intensive Informal Speech Practice
From my experience, those with severe aphasia or
apraxia do not recover speech unless they have
had an intensive approach. By using the
Sensory Trigger Program and training the family,
friends and caregivers we can achieve this.
Combining this with speech and other therapies
plus social interaction and activities is
especially effective.
The impact of a coordinated effort could be
great.
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My Vision and Hope for the Future

• Our challenges are too great for individuals to
  face alone.
• We can find ways to help each other and work
  together.
• We can reinvent ourselves and rebuild our lives.
• We can regain our skills and abilities.
• We can explore new interests.
• Stay positive, enjoy life and never give up!

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For more information

• Visit Strokefamily.org
• Or call 855-585-5350 toll free
• Outside the U.S. - please email us through the
  website
• Copyright 2015, Barbara E Schacker, All
  rights reserved. Trademarks property of
  Barbara E Schacker, Pathways Publishing
• Disclaimer The Sensory
  Trigger Method is not speech therapy.