Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) and Spoken Language

Transient Ischaemic Attack (also known as TIA or 'mini-stroke') affects about 46,000 people in the UK each year. It is assumed that people recover fully within 24 hours. However, subtle problems with speaking, and confidence with their communication skills can be long-term. This project will be the first in depth exploration of speaking abilities after recent TIA where there seemed to be a full recovery.

The researchers will look for 90 volunteers for detailed testing. Thirty people who have had a TIA for the first time. For comparisons, the researchers will also include 60 volunteers without TIA (30 treated to prevent TIA and stroke; 30 who do not receive prevention treatments).

Aims and methods:

1. To find out if TIA makes speaking difficult.

People will complete speaking tasks in a quiet place. For example, people will be asked to tell us about their weekend, what they think about climate change. 2. To find out if people are concerned about their speech and other thinking skills after TIA.

People will fill in questionnaires to help us look into these issues. 3. To find out if speaking abilities and people's own views of their communication change over time (about three months after the TIA).

Discovering new knowledge about spoken communication after a TIA diagnosis could change the course of TIA research and care across health professions (speech-language therapy, psychology, audiology, neurology). Future studies could use speaking tasks to scrutinise further the complexity of subtle communication problems after TIA and determine which individuals are likely to have these problems. The project will raise understanding of these issues, enabling affected individuals to seek professional support. Finally, it will also guide development of new TIA recommendations and treatments for these problems thus improving people's quality of life.