Oliver Cheadle

Oliver Cheadle - Community Speech and Language Therapist - Wye Valley NHS Trust, Community Stroke Service 

 

Say Aphasia fills a real gap in Herefordshire. For many years we have had no local groups for people with aphasia. SayAphasia have created an aphasia-friendly environment in our county where people with aphasia can connect with others to build a community and rebuild their confidence. The fact that both the charity and the groups themselves are run by people with aphasia is really valuable – it provides a great role model for others and demonstrates the knowledge and competence within everyone with aphasia.  For many of our patients, attending and helping with such a group marks an important first step away from being managed by medical professionals to beginning to manage and shape their own lives outside of the medical model.

Our local SayAphasia group is a safe, hopeful, and practical place for people living with aphasia. Those who can access the group are able to find community, share strategies, and take meaningful steps back into everyday life. Family members and carers also benefit hugely from the group as they can share their experiences and get support from others.  

 

Herefordshire is a largely rural county, with people living far apart and very limited public transport. If SayAphasia had funding to help with transport, many more isolated people with aphasia would be able to attend and benefit from the group.

Some background on how strokes/aphasia impact our patients and how this links with SayAphasia’s work:

After a stroke, income often drops and costs go up. A free group removes the paywall at exactly the time money is tight. It keeps the door open for everyone, not just those who can afford it.

Aphasia is a communication disability, not a loss of intelligence — yet it can misunderstood in wider society. SayAphasia creates spaces built around aphasia-friendly communication so that people can participate fully and be treated as competent adults. The existence of the group is also a valuable way to help raise the profile of aphasia amongst our community.

How we work together (Community Stroke Team Speech and Language Therapy + SayAphasia)

• We signpost to SayAphasia whenever possible. This can be at the time of a stroke (when a patient leaves the stroke ward or at an appropriate point during their rehabilitation.
• Groups provide a welcoming environment in which our patients can begin to use their communication strategies/communication aids in a real life setting. For many of our patients, this will result in improved outcomes post stroke.
• We keep an open dialogue with SayAphasia team about what is working and potential barriers to our patient’s attending the group.

 

Why the service is needed alongside NHS SLT

• Due to our team size, the intensity of therapy we can provide for people with aphasia is reduced. We can see patients for up to 1 year following their stroke, but we are not able to visit as frequently as many people require (many of our patients will be seen once a week or once a fortnight, and will not be seen for a full year in most cases). NICE guidance states that we should be seeing patients for 45 minutes, 5x a week. We are not even close to being able to offer this. Our patients need both NHS SALT input (to target the aphasia and learn strategies) but also opportunities to use these skills in a supportive real-word setting. SayAphasia is the bridge between therapy input and beginning to use these skills to participate more in the community.
• The fact that the SayAphasia group can be accessed at any point in a person’s recovery is incredibly valuable. Aphasia is a life-long condition for most and they will need support beyond the window that our service can support them.

  

Want to find out more from Oliver Cheadle? Click here to send an email.

 

 

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