Language and the ability to communicate are essential aspects of our lives that we often take for granted. This video examines what it is like to live with “aphasia,” a communication disorder that can occur after brain injury, most commonly stroke. Aphasia can affect a person’s ability to speak, understand spoken words, read, and write. Through interviews with Maria, Peter, and Robert, three survivors of various brain injuries that have been kind enough to share their experiences living with aphasia, we hope to give you new insights into this common but not well-known disorder. Most importantly, aphasia does not affect intelligence, only communication.

Resources – For Canada and Ontario:

Senior Activation Maintenance Program – www.samprogram.ca
Hamilton, King Street East, Location: 905-544-4550
Hamilton, Good Shepherd, Location: 905-525-1181
Flamborough Location: 905-689-5244
Halton Aphasia Centre – www.haltonaphasiacentre.com Call: 1-905-877-8805
Joseph Brant Wellness Centre – www.jbmh.com Call: 905-832-5358
Seniors Support Services Building – Caledonia – www.artc.ca and www.seniorssupport.ca Call: 519-758-4630
Adult Recreation Therapy Centre – Brantford – www.artc.ca Call: 519-753-1882
The Willet Hospital – Paris – www.artc.ca Call: 519- 753-1882

Private speech-language pathology services:
www.osla.com (find a speech-language pathologist)
www.casipo.com (find a speech-language pathologist)

Waterloo Wellington Regional Aphasia Program (WWRAP): Therapeutic conversation groups in Guelph, Waterloo, Kitchener, Fergus, Elmira, Erin, and Cambridge. WWRAP aims to develop a person’s communication skills.
Phone: (519) 824-6000 Ext. 4357

West GTA Stroke Network – Community Resources: Downloadable community resource book with a listing of stroke resources available for residents of the West GTA.

March of Dimes – Aphasia and Communication Disabilities Program (ACDP): Services and mutual aid groups for people living with aphasia and other communication disabilities. Currently serving York and Simcoe Region, Durham Region, Peterborough area and the GTA.

The Healthline: Enter your community name or postal code to find health and community services in Ontario.

York-Durham Aphasia Centre: Find services and programs for people affected by aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria and other social communication disabilities.

Aphasia Institute: Find services and programs for people affected by aphasia.

Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs: This program focuses on effective communication. For information about the locations and referral process to programs offered in the Halton and Peel regions click on the link or call (905) 875-8474.

You can find more information about resources in your own country through your doctor or online.

This video is made by McMaster Demystifying Medicine students Shreya Singh, Gurleen Bhogal, Abishna Jayasundararaja, and Alexandra Lengyel.

Copyright McMaster University 2019.

#DemystifyingMedicine

References:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2019). Aphasia. Retrieved from https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934663&section=Causes

National Aphasia Association. (n.d.) Aphasia Definition [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.aphasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Aphasia-Definitions.pdf

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders. (2017). Aphasia. Retrieved from https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/aphasia

National Health Services. (2018). Treatment – Aphasia. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/aphasia/treatment/

Tippett, D. C., Niparko, J. K., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Aphasia: Current Concepts in Theory and Practice. Journal of neurology & translational neuroscience, 2(1), 1042.

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