Notes from a Caregiver

Don't Forget the Baby!

One of the things I feared most happened last night. I asked my husband to go out to the office (we run a home-based business, the office is practically in our garage) to check on something. On the way out, he nearly stepped on our toddler, Rowan. I mean, he had to step...Next....

my story 1 by Banu Turhan

my story 5 -aphasia assement at the hospital

Then she takes the pad and writes the name of my husband. She asks me to copy it down. To my surprise, I can do it. She writes down "Kaan" I can also copy it down. But when she gives me a blank page I cannot write anything down but my name over an over again.

She wants me to imitate her in saying certain vowels like: "OOOO, UUUU, EEEEE". Let alone imitating them, I cannot even fathom what she wants me to do. It is almost like she has came from another planet and she wants me to use telekinesis to bend a spoon or something. How shall I know how to do it? Which command shall my brain issue to bend the spoon? I have no idea! Next......

Stroke/Apahsia Group

Stroke/Aphasia: Stroke of Hope Support Group, 9:30 a.m. second Tuesday, fellowship hall, Sebastian United Methodist Church, 1029 Main St., Sebastian; (772) 388-0582, (772) 713-3571, (772) 335-5320.

St. John’s Speech-Language Pathology Professor Launches Volunteer Program at St. Vincent’s Medical Center

September 11, 2007

As the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign heats up, several candidates are looking at the issue of health care, arguing that many Americans’ inadequate insurance coverage prevents them from seeking proper treatment. In the case of aphasia — an impairment of the ability to use or comprehend words, usually acquired as the result of a stroke or other brain injury — many of those afflicted are unable to access the clinical care and support they need.

This lack of access has motivated José Centeno, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology and a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), to take matters into his own hands: last year, he joined a small handful of other concerned SLPs and began offering pro bono clinical services for stroke survivors and their families at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, in Manhattan. Beginning September 17, Centeno, a leading expert in the effects of aphasia on bilingual individuals, and his colleagues will launch what is perhaps the country’s first volunteer program dedicated to Spanish-English bilingual aphasia patients. NEXT...............

Chance to help people affected by a stroke

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IF you have ever thought about putting your skills of compassion, listening and support to good use through volunteering, The Stroke Association is holding finding out sessions on Tuesday, October 2, in Driffield.

The event is intended for people interested in volunteering for their communication support service in East Yorkshire.

Volunteers are especially needed to provide home visits to people who have aphasia, a condition often caused by stroke which affects a person's ability to speak, understand, read and/or write.

Training is provided to enable volunteers to work with stroke survivors on all aspects of communication, with the aim of building up confidence and independence, and achieving the best possible recovery from stroke.

Local Therapy Group Aims to Help Those With Aphasia

Raleigh — Most people know what it's like to try to grasp for the right word but draw a blank.

For people with brain injury from stroke or other causes, it can happen all the time with almost every word. It's a communication disorder called Aphasia.

Special group therapy may help people with Aphasia to relearn ways to communicate, either through words, writing or gestures.

Among the members of a therapy group at WakeMed is a former N.C. State public speaking professor, a former truck driver and a beloved mother, Elizabeth Cox.

She described her story in halting speech, "I had a stroke, and thanks be to God, I survived."

Cox's stroke lead to Aphasia.

"If you have Aphasia, it's like having a file cabinet that has all of your information and your knowledge stored and it gets tipped upside down," said Maura Silverman, an Aphasia therapy specialist.

With Aphasia, the words are scrambled, but the intellect is intact, according to Silverman. That's what Cox's daughter, Julie Stickler, said she knew all along.

WakeMed and Triangle Aphasia Project Join Forces

RALEIGH, N.C. - WakeMed Health & Hospitals and the Triangle Aphasia Project (TAP) have joined forces to provide lifelong therapeutic support to patients through the Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab.

An estimated one million people in the United States have acquired aphasia - a communication disorder usually the result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor or progressive neurological condition. This frustrating disorder may reduce a person's ability to understand written or spoken information and always affects their ability to find the words they want to say. Reading, writing, listening and speaking are so vital to our connections in the community and impairments like aphasia can be devastating to a person's self-confidence and willingness to participate in activities they enjoy.

For many years, the Triangle Aphasia Project operated as a community-based program to meet the needs of those with aphasia, offering a comprehensive range of support programs throughout Central North Carolina. As the number of individuals impacted by aphasia has grown, so has the need for additional services, financial support and resources.
"By welcoming the Triangle Aphasia Project into the WakeMed family, we are able to provide life-long therapeutic support well after insurance coverage is exhausted for patients and their families coping with Aphasia," commented Elaine Rohlik, executive director of the WakeMed Rehabilitation Hospital, the largest most comprehensive in-patient rehab hospital in the area. "We also are pleased to extend the continuum of care for our speech/language and brain injury patients."

The Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab is one of the few specialized aphasia programs in the country offering treatment groups, personalized home programs, family education and training and support. Collaborating with family and caregivers, the Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab works to remove barriers to information, recreation and vocational pursuits for the individual with aphasia.