Blogging is a great way to write and share your world with others online. Blogging itself has been around for almost 20 years and is a shortening of the word “weblog,” a web — or internet — log book. Think of it like a journal you share with the world, writing whatever you feel moved to tell readers.

blogging about aphasia

Why Blog?

Blogs can allow loved ones to keep up with your life from afar, give readers insight into what it is like to live with aphasia, and practice using words all at the same time. Plus they’re completely free if you use a service such as WordPress or Blogger (see below). Blogging can be in conjunction with therapy, or it can be used by anyone who wants to improve their writing or reading skills.

Don’t Blog Posts Have to be Long?

Not at all! There is a big microblogging movement, writing tiny posts that are sometimes only a few words or sentences long. Your blog posts can be as long or as short as you wish. You can also use pictures or video to help explain complex ideas.

What Do I Write About?

Anything. Of course, it would be helpful for others to gain a better understanding about aphasia if you share your day-to-day world, but your blog can be about anything. Have a hobby? Tell people about it via blog posts. Do you like to cook? You can share some of your favourite recipes. Take a walk every day and tell people what you see while you’re out of the house. Really, blogs can be about anything you feel moved to write about.

How to Start a Blog

There are plenty of online services that will give you free space online to host your blog. WordPress has a free option, though there are also paid plans. Blogger is another free site. Both are easy to use. Sign up for an account and the site will walk you through the steps of choosing a theme (this is a sample of how your blog will look when you put it online), adjusting your settings, and writing your first post.

Other Blogs to Read

Not sure if blogging is right for you? Why don’t you read someone else’s blog and see if you like the idea of sharing your writing online. These blogs about aphasia are written by aphasia centers or people with aphasia:

  • The Aphasia Center: an aphasia treatment center talks about what is on their members’ minds.
  • Faces of Aphasia: a magazine-style contributor blog rounding up personal stories of aphasia.
  • Aphasia Will Not Be Silent: another site written by multiple authors talking about life with aphasia.
  • Mindpop: a stroke at 26 left her with aphasia. Now she writes about life after her mind went “pop.”

If you are writing a blog (or are moved to start one due to this post), we would love to add it to our list. Please email Melissa at answers@aphasia.org with a link to your blog.

Image: Jamie via Flickr via Creative Commons license