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Emma was 33 years old when she had her stroke in 2016. She couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get her words out. She thought she was going crazy. It was nearly a year later when her speech pathologist told her she had aphasia.
Emma said: “What’s aphasia?” and looked it up. It was a relief for Emma to know she had aphasia. She rang her mum, Kim, and said, “I’ve got aphasia” and her mum said, “What’s aphasia?”. Without knowing Emma had aphasia, Emma and Kim had been unable to find out more about her condition and what they could do about it. This was a very frustrating time for them.
Emma and Kim are not alone in having this experience.
People living with aphasia face multiple barriers to communication every day. This can affect their:
This in turn can affect their finances, mood, quality of life and can lead to social isolation.
There are many ways we can reduce communication barriers. However, most people don’t know how to do this. Knowing how to support communication for people with aphasia can make all the difference.
Poor awareness and understanding of aphasia can result in problems such as:
The AAA is here to help raise awareness of aphasia.
We are the national voice for people with aphasia. People with aphasia may need support to advocate for themselves. Raising awareness and advocating for the aphasia community is central to all we do. However, we cannot do it alone!
The AAA needs your help to raise awareness of aphasia! It is important that people living with aphasia help to raise awareness in their own communities. Tell your family, friends, and communities about aphasia.
Content contributed by Claire Bennington. Personal story provided by Emma Beesley.