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. "
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.'
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.'