My Franken!Kyle speech headcanons (as a caretaker of stroke survivors and vulnerable/disabled adults)
Disclaimer: I am not a professional speech therapist but I have 2 years working with dementia patients, stroke survivors, and vulnerable adults with disabilities. During my time as a caretaker, I have helped people with their physical, occupational, and speech therapy skills and have seen serious improvement with them— it’s a beautiful thing I’ve been able to witness in my line of work and it gives me an in-depth look at how I believe Kyle most likely functions given his sexual, physical, and psychological trauma. A lot of these headcanons are based on actual traits and experiences I’ve seen during my work and I write all of them for Kyle with the utmost respect and dignity for the people I’ve worked with and other real life survivors.
“Yeah” and “yup” are easy-to-say words and comes out instinctively in response to things. Kyle say them a lot when he’s trying to soothe Reader, animals, or others. He’ll say ‘yeah’ with a sassy air when he gets an attitude, and favors ‘yeah’ in a bad mood, ‘yup’ in a good mood. If he’s saying ‘yup’ or it usually means he’s comfortable speaking right then. Does not always work for the sentence, they are just easy, go-to words for him.
Ex. “Hey, Kyle, how are you?” “Yup, yup!” or “Kyle, what did you want for dinner?” “Mm… yeah…”
He stutters a lot. Relearning to speak is a huge task and not every word comes easy. Soft sounds and especially ‘M’ sounds come easiest and will often come out accidentally instead of the intended sound/word.
Ex. *trying to say ‘hungry’* “Kyle mm—n…no. M-Mug. Mug.. g-gree.”
He says words wrong and Reader interprets best she can. I’ve written this into my fics before but Kyle almost always knows exactly what he wants to say— it’s just a matter of getting it out. He mixes up words but Reader can usually make sense of what he means. Ex. Saying “not” instead of “no” in response, but the negative connotation and tone make up for the incorrect word.
Ex. “Kyle, did you want this?” “Not. NOT!”
Repeats words when excited, frustrated, or confused. Repeating a word doesn’t always help, sometimes it happens out of frustration and Kyle cannot get his point across, and while not knowing another way to do so in the moment, will simply repeat the word he knows he can say over and over, or louder and louder, hoping to be understood. When he’s in a good mood, and hears a new word or word he likes, he’ll repeat it until it comes easy. Especially if it comes easy already.
Ex. *playing legos— happy* “Block. Block! Block, block, yup, yup…” or *struggling with zipper— frustrated* “Mm! Zip, zip! ZIP! Zip zip.”
Breaking up words into smaller pieces. It makes his speech sound choppy, but can actually make more sense if he does this, and it’s usually for his own comfort. Kyle often breaks longer (or even short) words into pieces to try and say each half correctly.
Ex. *trying to say ‘basket’* “Sket. Ba…ket— Bass…ket.”
This one is sad but he says “mom” on accident a lot. Again, ‘m’ sounds come very easy to him and he will say ‘mom’ as a sort of vocal stim when he’s tired/sleepy, upset/crying, or frustrated/struggling to speak. This is because it comes very easy to him, it doesn’t take effort to say the word, and usually accompanies vulnerability (whether he’s in a good mood or not) due to his past.
Ex. *tired/upset* “Kyle which one do you want?” “Mm…mom. N-no… mmm…momm….?”
He plays with words. Like repeating them to adjust to the sounds, Kyle will hum, mumble, and talk to himself, figuring out his speech and new words to try and get comfortable speaking again. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll repeat words that he likes (if he’s eating, ‘yum’ is a very easy word that he can say over and over in between bites), or if you say a new word and he tries it out and it actually comes easy, he’ll just keep saying it because he can and it doesn’t take too much effort to say. 🤷♀️ he’s silly like that
Ex. *after learning the word tree* “Mm.. t…tree! Tree, tree… tee. Tee, tee, ree… Ree, ree!”
He’ll shout words he’s confident with (or think he is confident with). For example, if he knows a word and is prompted by either that word or something that he can respond to with that word, he’ll blurt it (usually loudly). But he’s not always accurate with his pronunciation, or even the word he means to say, so he may accidentally shout random nonsense and ends up embarrassing himself, but the reader is always supportive of him trying.
Ex. “Do you want a bath, Kyle?” “MAT! Mm…no. Math?” “Bath.” “BATH!”
If he gets too frustrated with a word, he’ll give up. This usually happens after several failed attempts to say a word and he will usually exhale sharply and hide his face, embarrassment and frustration being the most prominent emotions when he struggles to speak.
He’s grown less embarrassed of his flubs and is more easy to laugh at them when you point them out. This is good but he still does get embarrassed when he fails to say things— Reader is usually careful to be encouraging rather than punishing when Kyle messes up in his speech and communication.
I will probably end up adding to this list! Totally feel free to adopt any of these as your own if you find them interesting and remember these are just my opinions, no need to agree with any of them! Thanks for reading 🩷🖤
Recognize the Signs: How to Act FAST to Spot a Stroke and Save Lives
Introduction to Stroke Awareness
Stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when there is an interruption of blood flow to the brain, causing brain cells to die. Recognizing the signs of stroke and taking immediate action can save lives and improve recovery outcomes. The importance of stroke awareness cannot be overstated, as timely intervention can mean the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent disability. Read more....
stroke symptoms
act FAST stroke
FAST stroke acronym
how to recognize a stroke
signs of stroke
stroke prevention
stroke recovery
types of str
If you have not worked directly with patients that have previously suffered a stroke, you could be facing a learning curve. Stroke patients need rehabilitation and special care to ensure they recuperate as quickly as possible.
Recognizing Stroke Symptoms
Slurred speech, or difficulty putting sentences together. Patients may drool from one or both sides of the mouth.
Numbness or paralysis on one side of the body. This can be anything from face, arm, leg, or an entire side of the body.
The patient may not know where they are, or may not be aware of what year it is.
Severe headache followed by nausea and vomiting
These are some typical stroke symptoms, but not every stroke falls into the typical category. If there is a question regarding a “possible” stroke, it’s best to be overly cautious, and have this checked out with the necessary tests.
Related: How to Express a Complaint or Concern
Caring for a Stroke Patient
After a patient, has suffered a stroke, there will eventually come a time for them to return home. The family will need to be educated on proper care to meet the needs of the stroke patient. If the patient is being released from the hospital, as a general rule it will be the responsibility of the nurse to provide care instructions to the family.
Be certain the family understands the medication list that has been prescribed to the patient. Make sure the prescriptions can be filled for the patient, and that the family member understands dosage instructions, etc.
Cover dietary needs with the family. It is essential that the patient eat a well-balanced and healthy diet.
Ensure the patient will have means of making return visits to their physician’s office, the risk of a second stroke should be considered.
Discuss lifestyle changes; stroke patients should get regular exercise, especially if not receiving physical rehabilitation. Suggest the patient's level of motivation and accomplishments be recorded, this can then be provided to the physician. Patients should take advantage of physical therapy rehab if available.
Ensure the family understands warning signs that indicate a need for prompt attention.
Depression is very common for patients that are adjusting to life after a stroke. The family should watch for signs or symptoms of depression, and alert the physician if depression becomes an issue.
Utilize supports, encourage the family to seek out supports, case manager, social workers, and support groups can be very valuable to both patients and family members.
Suggest family members explore insurance options, to determine what insurance will cover involving rehabilitation and home health care.
Related: Considering a Nursing Career
Stroke patients need to be reminded that life has changed, however it’s not over. This requires slow steps of moving forward with some improvement every day. Many stroke victims suffer frustration at the level of improvement, and it can be a slow process. Explaining to the patient that results may come slowly can at least prepare them for what the future holds. Family members should be made aware that personality changes in a stroke patient are common. It may take up to 6 months to regain functions that were simple prior to the stoke. Again, this is a time that support groups can be very beneficial. This can assure the patient they are not alone, and that there is hope for at least partial recovery. When patients are older, resistance is often a problem. Family involvement will usually provide encouragement, and a progress chart can be a great incentive for the patient.
Strokes can range from very mild to extremely severe. In some cases, a patient will have a stroke, and never have any idea that this has happened. This can be detected using CT scans or similar. Stroke patients should follow the advice of their medical care team, take all medications prescribed, and continue with outpatient therapy. Proper care, and proper follow up treatment is essential in treating stroke patients.
Statistics show that patients who participate in an outpatient recovery program have a 50% better recovery period, and also make necessary lifestyle changes to improve other areas related to health and wellbeing.
A stroke does not have to be the end. It can be used as a learning tool for a new beginning.
Related: List of nursing organizations
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Be Stroke Aware. Did you know that each year stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer? Taking time to learn the signs of stroke might save someone's life, maybe even your own. For more first aid content, please visit our website: http://bit.ly/2cJZuEp
Petition for it to be mandatory that all buffet style places have to have a tray holder counter thing in front of the food so you can rest your tray on it while getting your food. For people who can’t physically hold two things at once!!!!!!!!
do you think kyle would want to go back to school during or after his recovery, & what do you think that'd be like for him?
i'm sorry you're not feeling well!
I’ve actually thought a LOT about this and unfortunately have come to a conclusion that’s way more devastating than anyone wants to hear.
Kyle still has a dream, a distant dream, of becoming an engineer and changing the world for the better. But for right now, anyway, that’s all it is: a very distant and untouchable dream.
When Kyle died and came back, it changed everything. Not just the fact that his abuse continued, he had learned to live with that and carry on despite it. But with his new struggles with speech, coordination, and overall independence, the idea of attending school is so outlandish he doesn’t even entertain it anymore (not without breaking down crying, at least).
His journey to heal and relearn how to live (including reteaching himself how to function physically, mentally, AND emotionally) has taken up the forefront of his mind. Every single day is a struggle just to get up, eat, wash, and try to find some enjoyment in some way before the pain catches up to him and he has to rest again.
From my experience working with stroke survivors, big, life-changing decisions like schooling and moving homes are so monumental, survivors don’t have the energy to expend trying to achieve them. They are oftentimes barely able to make it through the day without assistance from someone and therefore can’t imagine the ease of attending classes and sitting for hours on end with no breaks or personal tutors to help them comprehend lessons and slow the pace of their teaching to let them catch up.
There are so many obstacles between what they want and how much they can actually accomplish that their concerns become limited to what they can get done in a single day to still feel good.
I think, as much as Kyle’s abuse is talked about (and is of course a huge part of his trauma and who he is), his biggest concern (and what would be holding him back from attending school) would be his communication skills. Kyle was a talker before the accident, he used his words and when he was stripped of that ability, it was like how he felt with his mother was suddenly his everyday situation: unable to speak up for himself and unable to say how he felt about any given thing. The disconnect between his brain and his tongue is wide, but not impossible to cross. I’ve seen progress in my own life with people who practice every single day on speaking again, but it still takes years to even start being able to communicate short phrases and names, let alone construct full sentences.
So as much as I would love to see Kyle attend school again, and achieve his dream, I think his priority right now is learning to live in his new body and love himself despite the pain and struggle, and having a support system to help him with his speech and occupational therapy would be the best way to strengthen himself before attempting a change like that in his life.
Idk if this made ANY sense at all but it’s actually been on my heart for a while so thank you SO so much for this ask, I loved answering. 🩷
