Advocacy in Action: A New Aphasia Support Group
Alison Dinkins, Graduate Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocacy\ncan take on many forms. Here at the UofSC Aphasia Lab, we are given the\ninvaluable opportunity to be advocates for our participants, whether that is by\nconnecting them with support groups, hosting community events, or campaigning\nfor improved legislation for individuals with disabilities in South Carolina.\nOne of the most powerful forms of advocacy, however, is when an individual\nbegins to advocate for themselves and other members of their community. Stroke\nsurvivor and UofSC Aphasia Lab participant Steve Gordon has shown us how\nstepping into acting as your own advocate can not only enhance your own\nrecovery, but also improve the lives of other individuals with aphasia in your\ncommunity and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After\nhaving a stroke five years ago, Steve Gordon\u2019s life was drastically affected by\nhis newfound language difficulties. Having aphasia was particularly challenging\nin that his career required him to give presentations in which he frequently\nspoke to crowds of a hundred or more. Immediately following his stroke, Mr.\nGordon relied upon his family to advocate for his recovery. \u201cMy brother lives in London but\ncame to visit when I had my stroke. He stayed for almost a month and did\neverything he could to help me recover. He found the aphasia lab on the internet\nwhile researching ideas to help,\u201d noted Mr. Gordon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following participation in one of\nour studies, Mr. Gordon began searching for aphasia groups in the Charlotte, NC\narea where he resides, but found that no such group existed. \u201cThe doctors were saying there should be tons\nof meetings and there weren\u2019t. The closest aphasia support group was in\nRaleigh, 2.5 hours away. That\u2019s when I told Dr. Spell \u201cIf nobody will do it,\nI\u2019ll do it.\u201d It just so happened that Concord, NC speech-language\npathologist Mallory Moore had noticed the same need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOver the\nlast couple years, I had observed a need in our community for an\naphasia-specific support group in addition to a stroke-support group. \nMany of my patients with aphasia would discharge home from inpatient\nrehabilitation, not knowing that they were not alone or feeling socially\nisolated because of their communication struggles, or feeling anxious about\nwhat the future held for recovery and life with aphasia. I decided to\ntake the plunge and work with my leaders at Atrium Health to establish a support\ngroup here in Concord. It was kismet that just a month or two into\nworking with my leaders on a timeline and location for starting a group, that\nSteve reached out to Atrium Health with the same goal of starting an aphasia\nsupport group. We were put in touch with each other and started sharing\nideas. I was very happy to have a partner to brainstorm ideas and work\ntogether to have our first meeting,\u201d remarked Ms. Moore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After\nmonths of planning and coordinating, the group is now meeting on a monthly basis.\nThe groups are not limited to people with aphasia; friends, family, and\ncaregivers are welcome to attend. \u201cIf they are involved with aphasia in any\nway, they are welcome to come,\u201d says Mr. Gordon. The response from the\ncommunity thus far has even led to the formation of a second group that will\nbegin gathering in Huntersville, NC in April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Ms. Moore and Mr. Gordon offered words of wisdom for\nother professionals or individuals affected by aphasia that are interested in\nbecoming an advocate and filling a need within their community. \u201cI told myself\nI \u2018needed more experience\u2019 or needed to be \u2018an expert\u2019 before starting an\naphasia support group. I would encourage other SLPs to trust themselves\nand trust their passion for this population. Don\u2019t wait until you \u201cfeel\u201d\nlike you are an expert. Do it and you and the attendees will all learn\ntogether,\u201d Ms. Moore noted. When asked what advice he would give to other\npeople with aphasia looking to start their own groups, Mr. Gordon says \u201cYou\nhave to reach out-to hospitals, doctors, or SLPs, make flyers, and then follow\nup. It takes time and it\u2019s not going to happen the next day. If necessary, have\nsomeone without aphasia there to advocate for you and help deliver your message\nwhen talking to professionals, and then follow up again. When you start talking\nto people, you won\u2019t believe how many are willing and able to help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Advocacy in Action: A New Aphasia Support GroupAlison Dinkins, Graduate Assistant Advocacy can take on many forms. Here at the UofSC Aphasia Lab, we are given the invaluable opportunity to be advocates for our participants, whether that is by connecting them with support groups, hosting community events, or campaigning for improved legislation for individuals with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-970","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/970\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.asph.sc.edu\/aphasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}