Word Finding Strategies

As people age word finding frequently becomes more difficult.  There are many word finding strategies but here are a just a few that I really like.

• Look around-sometimes something you see will trigger the word
• Think of the first sound of the word-often if you can think of the first sound the rest of the word will come
• Describe it-this is my favorite, be describing either the speaker or the listener may think of the word
• Visualize the object of concept-this may trigger recall of the word
• Point-if the object or person is present
• Gesture-again this may help the speaker or listener think of the word

We all have word finding difficulties from time to time.  When I was a teenager I couldn't remember the word "mountain" while on a long drive with my family.  I described it and pointed to one until my dad realized what I was trying to say. 
It is okay to forget a word every once in a while but if you or a family member are experiencing more word finding problems than usual, please see your physician and/or an SLP.  There could be many explanations for the problem and they can help you identify the problem and hopefully come up with a remedy.