My wife had a stroke a few years ago which affected her ability to speak. Her social speech was fairly good (How are you? I'm fine.). Her purposeful speech though was almost non-existant ( Where is the bathroom?). We learned of the Aphasia Center of California from her speech therapist when she was recovering from her stroke. She started attending one of the Aphasia Center's Conversation Groups and it was amazing how much her ability to work around her lack of purposeful speech improved. I also believe that her meeting with and being around other individuals who suffered from similar difficulties made a vast difference in her ability to cope with her aphasia. The interaction between these aphasia stroke individuals and the way they encourage each other is both amazing and up lifting.
Over ten years ago my husband had a stroke that left him almost unable to speak and walk. After some intense therapy and with the assistance of a caregiver he was able to participate in the Aphasia Center of California's speech therapy program. Jim also enjoys the exercize class and the book club. The Aphasia Center has become more of a second home and a second family for him. It has been extremely important for him to have a group that truly understands the ramifications of having a stroke. Jim looks so forward to his classes and the connection with this group that without it he would be very lost and alone. This is the only center of it's kind in California and it is crutial that is continues for a very long time. Thank you Roberta Elman and your dedication.
in 1999, my husband had a stroke that affected his speech. after exhausting his extremely limited speech therapy benefits, we learned about the aphasia center thru his speech therapist. he currently attends the weekly conversation group and club aphasia. it is a great group of folks that run the place and those that utilize its services. he has come a long way from utterly multiple syllables for a single syllable word.
In 1996, my husband had a stroke at age 52 and attended Conversation Groups at the newly opened Aphasia Center of California. He received assistance with reading and writing, and participated in the Book Club, and continues to enjoy listening to books on tape. For me, the Caregiver Support Group was a lifesaver, learning how to live in a stressful situation, not knowing how much recovery would occur, trying to assist with reading and writing therapy and take care of myself too. We both have been active since then, participating in fund raising and anniversary events, and I have been on the Board of Directors since 2003. This organization provides incredible services to survivors with a disability that affects millions of people, yet is virtually unknown. Additional information : www.aphasiacenter.org.
The Aphasia Center of California (ACC) has provided therapy to individuals with aphasia to expand their communication skills and improve their quality of life. The ACC helped me to improve my quality of life by re-teaching me daily skills, such as how to read and write, make phone calls, and balance my check book. Since opening its doors in 1996, ACC has helped many families by offering individual speech-language therapy, communication treatment groups, reading and writing groups, a book club, and caregiver groups. In collaboration with the Oakland Adult School, art and fitness classes are also provided. As a current board member and former client, I am proud to work with this group to provide needed services, totally more than 4,300 visits to more than 160 individuals with aphasia and their families last year. They can be reached at www.aphasiacenter.org.
My father goes here for group speech therapy sessions. He had a stroke and has trouble talking. It was the best thing he ever did. His talking has really improved and he became a lot more confident. The speech therapists are really great and know a lot about aphasia. It's a small charity and is really helping a lot of people.