Aphasia Awareness Month 2010!

The "C's" of Aphasia! *
Click here to see the Awareness Month 2010 Poster*
*(Theme developed and Poster designed by the Aphasia Advocacy Group at Rehabilitation Insitute of Chicago)

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Awareness Month 2010 Group Hosts "Aphasia Day"

Tony Plana enthralled the audience with his stories, personal insights, and humor.	Tony Plana mingles with participants at the annual “Connections,” a day for those with aphasia, family members and friends, to learn together, share stories, and network.
Edie Babbitt, Research Speech-Language Pathologist; Leora Cherney, Director, Center for Aphasia Research; Tony Plana, Keynote Speaker; Ellayne Ganzfried, Executive Director, National Aphasia Association	Tony Plana enthralled the audience with his stories, personal insights, and humor.

“Ugly Betty” Star Connects with Aphasia Community

"Tony Plana, who stars as the father in the television series “Ugly Betty”, was the keynote speaker at “Connections”, the annual Aphasia Day sponsored by the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Plana told the audience of over 80 individuals with aphasia, their family members and friends, that he first came across the term “aphasia” while researching a movie role in which he plays a person who has a stroke and a subsequent communication disorder.  He related his experiences as an 8-year old Spanish-speaking immigrant from Cuba, placed in an English-speaking classroom. In reflecting on adversity, he noted the importance of humor in making life worthwhile. Plana urged the audience to find reason to smile about and cherish every moment they share together.

Sharing the podium with Plana, was Ellayne Ganzfried, the Executive Director of the New York based National Aphasia Association (NAA).  Ganzfried described the advocacy role of the NAA in increasing awareness of aphasia and providing support to the more than one-million individuals who are living with aphasia across the United States.

Other activities during the day-long event included classes such as movement and exercise, singing, improvisation, and word games.  Leora Cherney, Director of the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment, lectured on current research in aphasia and Edie Babbitt, Research Speech-Language Pathologist, discussed techniques for supporting conversation. 

“Connections” is organized by the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment every June, which has been designated as National Aphasia Awareness Month by the Senate (S. Res.512) and, this year, by the City of Chicago. 

We partnered with Overlook Hospital to educate the public about aphasia.  In the main lobby of the hospital on June 15, the Overlook Aphasia conversation group along with members of the Aphasia Friends group of Montclair once again asked the public:

“Do you know what aphasia is? ” 
"Our sample was larger this year than last year and the statistic is improving.  Now, 37% of the public answered YES to the question compared to 33% the year prior. The most humorous remark by one of the people who guessed wrong, was that aphasia was a dessert!!

On June 17th, Aphasia Friends visited a local assisted living/long term care facility where one of our members lives.  She had been telling group members that her day to day has been pretty isolated as other residents are not sure what to make of her aphasia and therefore tend to avoid or ignore her.  She being a spry 90 something was feeling shy due to the aphasia and made very few friends. 

We played the NAA DVD, I’m still me and opened up the presentation afterwards.  Two Aphasia Friends members fielded questions and had an opportunity to tell their story.  Pretty soon, L.J. joined us in front and contributed to give her account.  Afterwards, the folks who attended told us how pleased they were to learn about aphasia and gave LJ tremendous support and teasing her about how they will seek her out for conversation."
-Marilyn Certner Smith, M.A., CCC-SLP
Speaking of Aphasia, LLC
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University of Washington
Seattle, WA

University of Washington had many things planned already for the month of June! Check it out!
"We have a dedicated support group for caregivers meeting each Saturday either in our UW clinic or at an area hospital.  Several of our spouses have launched a “Stroke & Head Injury Caregivie Support Group.  We’re especially grateful for the leadership of one of the spouses in concert with our faculty and students. 

We have an online support for Cargivers:   Our students have also built a google group for caregivers, called UWCaregivers. It grew out of a presentation by caregivers in one of our classes.  The url is groups.google.com/group/uwcaregivers.

Additionally, we hosted our 1st ever day- long “Aphasia Day Retreat” on June 5th.  This is one of our most exciting venture and we’re hoping to make it an annual event!!!  This allows us to have a “west coast” presence in Aphasia.  We will truly be coast to coast this year!!!  Finally!!

Lastly, the growth in these areas has been largely spurred on by the leadership and efforts of Dr. Diane Kendall.  There was a great article in the ASHA Leader – March 2010, for a really nice example of how we can grow support if we put the word out there.  We have an amazing group of faculty and students all working hard to support our stroke survivor families."

-Nancy Alarcon, MS, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS
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Lubbock Newspaper Highlights June as National Aphasia Awareness Month!
Lubbock, TX

NAA State Rep Melinda Corwin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP let us know that the Lubbock Avalanche Journal published an article highlighting June as National Aphasia Awareness Month.
Click here to read the article!
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Adler Aphasia Center
Maywood, NJ

Residents of and visitors to Maywood, NJ learned about aphasia through two banners that were displayed above busy town streets.  This is the fourth consecutive year that the banners have been displayed to raise awareness about aphasia.

Click here to find out how else they celebrated!
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Aphasia Community Friendship Center
Ann Arbor, MI

Our new Aphasia Community Friendship Center (ACFC) celebrated Aphasia Awareness Month 2010 with a radio interview on Everything Elderly WLBY 1290, a family picnic, distribution of ACFC brochures throughout the community, and the scheduling of several aphasia workshops.  We are excited to have the opportunity, with the support of NAA, to continue increasing the awareness and understanding of aphasia in southeastern Michigan as part of our mission.
-Lynn Chenoweth, MT-BC, Executive Director
Aphasia Community Friendship Center (ACFC)
‘a place to thrive’
www.aphasiacentermi.org
info@aphasiacentermi.org
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Carondelet Aphasia Program
Tucson, AZ

We are proud to announce that we reinstituted our Advocacy Group during National Aphasia Awareness Month this year.  After a hiatus due to space and staff limitations, we made it a priority to put this important group back into the schedule.  A few projects determined by the group included (a) a mandate to get all of our members to join community groups, so that we can put a face to aphasia in the community, and (b) a search for internet chatrooms and websites to connect with individuals living with aphasia who may not have access to an aphasia program and who may feel isolated.

To enhance aphasia awareness within the hospital, in addition to putting up the NAA posters, we developed a word search with terms related to aphasia and left a stack in the lunch room of the Outpatient Rehabilitation Department.  We included definitions and other important information about aphasia on the back of the word search.  It was a hit!  We also submitted a compelling article to the Carondelet Connection, the hospital’s newsletter, and it was published in June.

We are already excited about coming up with more activities for next year.

Fabi Hirsch, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Program Lead, Carondelet Aphasia Program
520-873-3016
fhirsch@carondelet.org
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York-Durham Aphasia Centre
Stouffville, ON

The 2010 Walk, Roll and Games-a-thon fundraiser was the first major event since York-Durham Aphasia Centre (YDAC) became a part of March of Dimes Canada (MODC).  About 300 clients, volunteers and staff once again took to heart the need to “Get Involved”.

A long-time YDAC volunteer and March of Dimes staff visited each program location. They gave presentations about our successful campaign in 2009 and the enhanced services that MODC can contribute to our clients.

This year’s bookmark was developed by two volunteers at the Maple Program and featured a collage of client art on the front, and information about aphasia, YDAC and March of Dimes on the back. This helped us raise $$ and Aphasia Awareness at the same time!


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We Want to Hear From You!!!

We would love to include how YOU celebrated Awareness Month 2010. Email us at naa@aphasia.org with pictures and a small summary.