Happy New Year! I was so busy last semester that I didn't really have time to blog. Glad it's over!
Well, with 2011 came a volunteer opportunity for me in January. I worked with one of my professors on an intensive communication workshop for aphasic adults. It was so exciting for me because I haven't had any experience interacting with stroke survivors. Although I was not doing therapy (this was research) it was still very rewarding and challenging.
I am a very empathetic person and also have a giant soft spot in my heart for older adults. I was terrified before starting this project that I would cry when they struggled to speak. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I am much stronger than I thought and the adults were so interesting and fun! I had such a great time talking with them. The goal was to get them talking as much as possible so we discussed different things using activities my professor provided.
It was difficult at first because I realized I needed to slow down my speech (but not so slow that it was condescending) and that I sometimes needed to rephrase things or use simpler words (with some people, not all). Another really important factor was waiting. Similar to a stutterer, waiting without pressure and letting the stroke survivor finish their thought or search for their word. We didn't want them to get too frustrated so when appropriate we would help them find the word they were looking for, but most of the time they produced it or used a similar word instead.
Anyway, here is a video of an aphasic woman. She is much younger than the adults I encountered but this is just so you have an idea of what I'm talking about. Clearly everybody is different, so she does not represent every person with aphasia in the world.
