Simple practice you can do at home every day
From Strategic Speech Solutions LLC
These exercises are designed to help with speech recovery after a stroke. They take about 10-15 minutes a day. Start with what feels comfortable and build from there.
A stroke can affect speech in different ways depending on which part of the brain was damaged. Here are the three most common diagnoses, in simple terms:
Aphasia affects your ability to use language. You might have trouble finding the right word, understanding what people say, reading, or writing. Your thinking is fine — it is the language system that is disrupted.
Which exercises help: Word Practice (Section 3) and Sentence Practice (Section 4) are most important for aphasia. These retrain your brain to find and use words.
Dysarthria means the muscles you use to speak — your tongue, lips, jaw, or vocal cords — are weak or hard to control. Your speech might sound slurred, too quiet, or hard for others to understand. You know what you want to say, but it does not come out clearly.
Which exercises help: Mouth and Tongue Warm-Ups (Section 1) and Breathing and Voice (Section 2) are most important for dysarthria. These rebuild the strength and control in your speech muscles.
Apraxia is different from both aphasia and dysarthria. Your muscles are not weak, and you know the word — but your brain has trouble sending the right signals to move your mouth in the correct order. Words might come out wrong, or you might struggle to start speaking even when you know exactly what you want to say.
Which exercises help: All four sections help with apraxia. Repetitive practice — saying the same words and sentences over and over — helps your brain rebuild the motor plans for speech. Start with Everyday Words (Section 3) and work up to Sentence Practice (Section 4).
Some people have more than one of these conditions at the same time. All of the exercises on this page can help regardless of your diagnosis. A speech therapist can tell you exactly which areas to focus on.
Why: After a stroke, the muscles in your mouth, tongue, and lips may be weak or hard to control. These warm-ups help rebuild strength and coordination in those muscles so you can form sounds and words more clearly.
Smile wide, hold for 5 seconds. Then pucker your lips like you are going to whistle, hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times.
Why this helps: Your lips need to move quickly between different shapes to make sounds like "p," "b," "m," "w," and "oo." This builds that range of motion.
About 1 minute
Push your tongue against the inside of your left cheek and hold for 5 seconds. Then push against the right cheek. Repeat 5 times each side.
Why this helps: Your tongue needs side-to-side strength to move food while eating and to shape sounds like "l" and "k." This builds that strength.
About 1 minute
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, right behind your front teeth. Hold for 3 seconds, then relax. Repeat 10 times.
Why this helps: Many sounds in English — "t," "d," "n," "l," "s" — require your tongue tip to reach this exact spot. This exercise trains that movement.
About 1 minute
Why: Speaking requires steady breath support. After a stroke, breathing and voice control may be weaker, making your voice too quiet or hard to sustain. These exercises help you build the breath control needed to speak at a normal volume and keep your voice going through a full sentence.
Take a deep breath in. Then slowly say "ahhhh" for as long as you can. Try to keep the sound steady. Do this 5 times.
Why this helps: This trains your lungs and vocal cords to work together. The longer you can hold the sound, the easier it will be to get through longer words and sentences without running out of breath.
About 2 minutes
Count from 1 to 20 slowly and clearly. Focus on saying each number fully before moving to the next one.
Why this helps: Counting is familiar and automatic, which makes it easier than trying to think of words. It lets you focus on how clearly and loudly you are speaking without the pressure of finding words. If 20 is hard, start with 1 to 10.
About 1 minute
Why: After a stroke, finding and saying the right word can be difficult (this is called aphasia). These exercises help retrain your brain's ability to recall words, connect them to their meaning, and say them out loud. The more you practice, the faster and easier word retrieval becomes.
Pick a category and name 5 things in it. Say each word out loud.
Why this helps: This practices word retrieval — pulling words from your memory on demand. Using categories helps because related words are stored near each other in the brain, making it a good starting point for rebuilding those connections.
Categories to try: fruits, animals, colors, things in your kitchen, family members, clothes, foods you like
About 2 minutes
Look at a photo (from a magazine, phone, or around your home) and describe what you see. Try to say 3-5 sentences about it.
Why this helps: This combines word finding with putting words into sentences. It is closer to real conversation than single-word practice, which helps the skills transfer to everyday talking.
Example: "I see a dog. The dog is brown. It is sitting on the grass. It looks happy."
About 2 minutes
Practice saying these common words clearly, one at a time:
water • bathroom • help • yes • no • please • thank you • I need • I want • hello • goodbye • my name is
Why this helps: These are the words you need most in daily life. Practicing them regularly makes them more automatic, so when you need them in the moment, they come more easily.
About 2 minutes
Why: Speaking in full sentences requires your brain to find words, put them in the right order, and coordinate your mouth to say them — all at the same time. These exercises build that skill gradually, starting with structured sentences and working toward free conversation.
Have someone read the beginning and you finish it:
"I woke up and ate ___." • "My favorite color is ___." • "Today the weather is ___." • "For dinner I want ___." • "I feel ___ today."
Why this helps: The beginning of the sentence gives your brain a running start. You only have to find one or two words instead of building the whole sentence from scratch. This is an easier first step toward full sentences.
About 2 minutes
At the end of each day, try to say 3 things you did. Keep it simple.
Why this helps: This is the closest exercise to real conversation. You are choosing your own words and building your own sentences about something real. Over time, this becomes easier and more natural.
Example: "I ate breakfast. I watched TV. I went for a walk."
About 2 minutes
| Time | Exercise |
|---|---|
| 2 min | Mouth and tongue warm-ups (pick 2) |
| 2 min | Deep breath and long sound + counting |
| 3 min | Word practice (pick 1-2) |
| 3 min | Sentence practice (pick 1) |
Do this at the same time every day if you can. Morning or early afternoon is usually best when energy is higher.
These exercises are a great start — but working with a licensed speech therapist can help you make faster, more targeted progress.