Mark NormanBBC South East Health Correspondent
When David Turner had a stroke he said he could not talk for two months, but after joining a singing group in Cuckfield, he has found that he cannot stop singing.
Around one in three people in the UK have aphasia after a stroke, which can impact their ability to understand speech, speak, read, write and use numbers.
However research shows that some people can sing even if they cannot talk because we use different sides of our brains for speech and music.
Tara Lakin, from The Stroke Association, said a recent survey found “a third of stroke survivors were able to sing clearly before they could speak after their stroke”.
Mark Norman BBCMs Lakin said that two-thirds of stroke survivors said they had been able to massively improve their ability to communicate through music and singing.
Some of those survivors in West Sussex meet regularly at singing sessions in the small town of Cuckfield.
Mr Turner said: “When I worked through the stroke, I couldn’t speak for two months.
“And I come to this, and I sing and sing and sing.”
Mark Norman BBCAnother one of the participants, Keith Denyer, said with singing, he “can remember the words”.
He adds: “It’s strange – but I can. I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can remember the words (from songs) from three or four years ago.”
The Stroke Association says singing can help survivors with aphasia because music and spoken language are processed in different parts of the brain.
Singing can also help rebuild confidence, improve communication skills, and reconnect with others through group choirs and singing programmes.
According to the Stroke Association
- Stroke strikes every five minutes
- 100,000 people have strokes each year
- There are 1.4 million stroke survivors in the UK
