How Long Does it Take to Recover from Aphasia? ...people continue to improve over a period of years and even decades... Expand If the symptoms of aphasia last longer than two or three months after a stroke, a complete recovery is unlikely. However, it is important to note that some people continue to improve over a period of years and even decades. Improvement is a slow process that usually involves both helping the individual and family understand the nature of aphasia and learning compensatory strategies for communicating.
ANA AMAYA Friend of Say Aphasia Expand "I am an independent Speech and Language Therapist specialising in adult neurology, particularly supporting people with communication difficulties following stroke or other acquired brain injuries. During my work at Sussex Community NHS Trust, I helped to establish and led the Aphasia Befriending Scheme. It was through this role, that I met the founder, Colin Lyall, and the inspiring peer leaders of Say Aphasia. I worked as the Outreach Project Mentor for the Brighton and Hove aphasia drop-in group from February 2014 following its launch in October 2013. It is wonderful to see Say Aphasia continuing to grow, offering fantastic services across the country to support people with aphasia, particularly the drop-in services. "
Richard Talbot Richard helps raise money for Say Aphasia by running the Brighton Half Marathon every year. Expand We first met Richard when Colin, the founder of the charity had his stroke. Richard was Colin's speech therapist in 2013 and they have kept in contact ever since. 'I'm a qualified speech and language therapist with experience in a variety of adult neurology settings. I currently work part time in community rehabilitation in Sussex, alongside a research post at City University investigating the benefits of delivering social support and speech and language therapy to people with aphasia in an on-line virtual environment called EVA Park. I'm interested in the application of technology to aphasia rehabilitation, and bolstering links between research and clinical practice.'
Does Aphasia Affect a Person’s Intelligence? No... Expand No. There are many types of aphasia. Some people have difficulty speaking while others may struggle to follow a conversation. In some people, aphasia is fairly mild and you might not notice it right away. In other cases, it can be very severe, affecting speaking, writing, reading, and listening. While specific symptoms can vary greatly, what all people with aphasia have in common are difficulties in communicating.
Kirsty Maguire Speech and Language therapist who attends our Hove group Expand 'I'm Kirsty, and I work for Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust as a Speech and Language Therapist. I work as part of a Multi Disciplinary Team eg with physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists. My role is to provide intensive rehabilitation to adults with acquired neurological impairments, including stroke. Working with people with Aphasia is a large part of my job, and an area I find extremely rewarding yet challenging. Living with an acquired brain injury and aphasia is a life long condition, and I feel passionately about the importance of long term support for people in this position and their families. I have worked closely with Colin Lyall and a number of other people with Aphasia in Brighton and Hove as part of an Aphasia Befriending Scheme I coordinate. This aims to combat loneliness in housebound people living with aphasia. It compliments the work of Say Aphasia and their peer led groups, which offer a lifeline for many people affected by brain injury and aphasia. As a long term volunteer for the charity, I see my role as sharing my knowledge and experience of working with aphasia to help develop and guide the vision of the charity. This includes raising the profile of the charity and developing links between Say Aphasia and the NHS.'
How Common is Aphasia? ...far more than people are aware... Expand Aphasia affects about 350,000 people in the UK, and is more common than Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. However, most people have never heard of it.
How Do You Communicate With a Person With Aphasia? slow down, be patient, be concise with short sentences ... Expand See here for more communication tips
Can People Who Have Aphasia Return to Their Jobs? ...sometimes, though it can be very hard... Expand Sometimes. Since most jobs require speech and language skills, aphasia can make some types of work difficult. Individuals with mild or even moderate aphasia are sometimes able to work, but they may have to change jobs.
Mark & Caroline Chappell Mark and Caroline run the Skipton group. Expand Mark had a haemorrhagic stroke in 2012, he has dysphasia and wants to provide a safe, non judgemental, monthly drop-in group for people with aphasia to boost their confidence and help them to engage with life again. There is not much support for people with aphasia in the North of England which is why he was keen to start a drop-in group in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Mark enjoys listening to music and radio comedy and has a great interest in drawing, particularly caricatures. "I had a large stroke in 2012 and have aphasia. I live in Yorkshire and together with my wife run the monthly Say Aphasia Skipton drop in group. I enjoy drawing and listening to music, have a good sense of humour and enjoy promoting Say Aphasia. It is good being a Peer Leader and being able to encourage others with aphasia to communicate and enjoy the group."
Mike Nicholls Selsey Peer Leader Expand I have the privilege of being chair of Selsey Community Forum and stepped in to lead the Selsey group when others were not able to do so. I am married to Di and have three children and eight grandchildren. Retirement gives me time to volunteer and watch cricket .
David Mortimer David run the Chichester drop in group. Expand David had a stroke in 2012, though fortunately he doesn't have aphasia, but the stroke left him half paralyse. He has become a great peer leader for the charity. He was extremely fortunate in that he didn't suffer from some of the usual deficiencies that follow a stroke so has decided to make the most of it. After a lifetime career in the aviation in the industry with Dan Air and then with a small tour operator, he felt well prepared to offer advice to those who find themselves in a similar position, and of course the more unfortunate stroke and aphasia victims. Before his 'incident' David involved himself in a host of different sports, football, cricket, squash, tennis, rugby union, table tennis and when this proved age restricted he turned to golf. His work also provided him with a lot of satisfaction, particularly his time as a manager with an airline which offered opportunities to play on some of the worlds finest golf courses. Involvement with becoming a team leader in the Say Aphasia movement occupied time in his unoccupied life following his retirement from a normal life. The incident left him with a seriously incapacitated right side, however he had the ability to speak, read, write and most importantly to drive. He attends lots of meetings as well as him being responsible for leading the team in Chichester. A busy week.
What is Aphasia Aphasia is a communication disability which occurs when the communication centres of the brain are damaged... Expand Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and most people with aphasia experience difficulty reading and writing. The diagnosis of aphasia does NOT imply a person has a mental illness or impairment in intelligence.
Can a Person Have Aphasia Without Having a Physical Disability? ...yes... Expand Yes, but many people with aphasia also have weakness or paralysis of their right leg and right arm. When a person acquires aphasia it is usually due to damage on the left side of the brain, which controls movements on the right side of the body.
Who Acquires Aphasia? It can occur in people of all ages, races, nationalities and gender... Expand While aphasia is most common among older people, more and more people of all ages are being diagnosed with aphasia after suffering a stroke or brain injury. Most common cause of aphasia is a stroke. You can prevent the chance of having a stroke by leading a healthy lifestyle. Please see here for more information: stroke prevention Stroke Association
Monica Monica runs the Woodingdean group Expand Hi I’m Mon. I’m married and we’ve got three sons and 6 grandchildren, 3 of each!Before I retired I was working for the NHS as an administrator for a community HIV/AIDSteam in Brighton. Because I was office based I seldom had the opportunity to meet ourpatients but I did get to know a lot of them through telephone contact. Over the 18 years Iwas working for the team our caseload went up from 22 to over 350!My husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma about 8/9 years ago and so I became hiscarer until I was taken ill myself with acute Pancreatitis. I was hospitalised for 5 weeks,spending 3 of those weeks in intensive care in an induced coma. I had a further two weeksrehabilitating and at last I was able go home! One week later I had my first stroke!!!As strokes go I know that I was very, very lucky. I had from some initial weakness down myright side, which is fine now, but my speech was not good, and still isn’t, although it hasimproved. ------------------------------------------------------------- I had never heard of Aphasia until I was told what it was by my speech therapist. She alsoencouraged me to join the closest Say Aphasia group to me, which was nearly an hour’s busride away. I saw how beneficial the group could be and when I found out a new group wasstarting up in Woodingdean I was very keen to be a part of it, although I was somewhatsurprised to be given the title of Peer Leader! ---------------------------------------------------------
Tim Charnock Tim helps run the drop in groups in Hove, Worthing and Eastbourne. Expand Tim suffered a stroke, and now has dysarthria. Although he doesn't have aphasia, he finds the charity hugely helpful. And he has supported the charity from day one. Dysarthria often is characterised by slurred or slow speech that can be difficult to understand. Common causes of dysarthria include nervous system (neurological) disorders such as stroke, brain injury, brain tumours, and conditions that cause facial paralysis or tongue or throat muscle weakness. Tim is still okay with reading writing and numbers. The charity helps to keep his mind busy.
Paul Stocken Paul helps with many of our groups and helps with our fundraising events. Expand Former vehicle locksmith, Paul had a stroke in 2008 at the age of 40. He could not return to work and so became a Peer Leader for the drop in groups in East Sussex. He also attends conferences for aphasia, and travels around the country to help raise awareness of aphasia and the charity.
Jez Hodgkinson Jez runs the Winchester group Expand I decided to become a peer leader as I had enjoyed the weekly Say Aphasia Zoom calls and since there was nothing in the area for people with Aphasia, I wanted to help other people in the area and also enjoy the community spirit the meetings provide.
Pete Pete runs the Darlington group. Expand In late 2017 I was involved in a major car accident which left me being air lifted out to hospital, in a coma for 8 weeks and spending a total of 11 months in hospital. Due to the accident I have a head injury resulting in having aphasia & mobility issues. I keep in touch with the speech and language nurses but visiting online Say Aphasia groups has made big and a positive impact within my life. I became a group leader to give something back to the community. Based in Darlington, I had no groups to focus on or to talk to other people who are going through a similar situation about aphasia so I wanted to bring something different to the town and the people who have aphasia, a place to visit, have a coffee, biscuit and to communicate if they have aphasia.
Barry & Stephen Barry & Stephen run the Cardiff group. Expand Prior to his retirement, Barry was an aircraft maintenance planning engineer and had the good fortune to work in a number of overseas locations before returning to his home in the Cardiff area. His wife suffered a stroke in 2018 and although her illness was not as severe as it could have been, she went along to a friendship group to meet other sufferers. When attending the group with her, Barry witnessed first hand the needs of those who have had this life changing event happen to them and learned about the additional communication difficulties that those Aphasia sufferers in the group had. There was clearly a need to offer additional support to them but having been robbed of the ability to easily communicate, they could not do this for themselves. It was at this point that Barry became involved with the set-up of a support group for the Cardiff area to help peer leader Stephen create and run the group. This endeavour has been greatly helped by a Speech and Language Technician at a local hospital who has people she supports that are also attending the friendship group. Through her, a venue for the group to meet in has been arranged, contacts made and with Say Aphasia providing support material, the group has everything needed to make it all happen.
Nick Nick runs the Abergavenny group. Expand I became a peer leader to help other aphasia members. It improves my confidence ,positivity and humour and every one always has a smiling face.