Here’s 10 tips for honoring your mother with aphasia, in an aphasia-friendly way.
- Instead of writing a long note inside that Mother’s Day card, include one or more special photos of the two of you that you can look at together.
- Give a framed photo, poster, or painting that expresses your feelings for Mom.
- Spend time with Mom at a group painting class (like Painting with a Twist), or a paint-your-own pottery outing.
- At the restaurant, ask for a table in the back room or quietest area of the restaurant. Try to avoid noisy restaurants and large groups.
- Make a special dinner for Mom at home, and set up a “communication station” in a quiet room or part of the house. Dinner guests can be invited to each spend some one-on-one time with Mom with her communication tools at hand, and that lets Mom out of the fast, group conversation that is so hard for her.
- Plan a musical outing together, and sit quietly enjoying the music.
- Is your Mom a sports nut? A trip to a sports game or a special time for the whole family to watch the sporting event on TV can be fun.
- Arrange for a visit to a museum that Mom would enjoy. Be sure to pick a time when it will be less crowded, and follow Mom’s pace for viewing the exhibits. Don’t worry about talking about each item; just look together and point out favorite parts.
- Sit quietly together in nature. Take chairs to a park or beach nearby. Enjoy the view or the sunset. You don’t have to fill the time with talk. Listen to the birds and other nature sounds.
- Make it a girls’ outing at the mall, or get your nails done. Just look at things together.
BONUS ITEM: Make it easy for Mom to say “thank you”. If she can’t say it with speech, give her a chance to give you a hug, or use writing or her communication book or tools to do it. Give her the space and time to do it herself, as much as possible. That’s a great gift, too!