Helping more people with aphasia
Speakeasy’s mission since 1985 has been to make a positive difference to the lives of people with aphasia and their carers across the region - support when people need it and for as long as they want it. Their members help their speech and language therapists (SLT) to craft a range of constantly changing activities which suit people’s needs. These therapeutic activities link with NHS input, engage with members individual goals, and create opportunities for building skills, confidence and communication; they support people to work towards improving their emotional and physical health, and to re-establish links with their communities.
Recent Speakeasy activities, which are mostly co-designed and co-delivered by people with aphasia, have included:
- Communication partner training
- Opportunities for developing communication skills for group discussions
- Skills for volunteering and return to employment
- Designing aphasia accessible documents especially for COVID
- Increasing awareness of aphasia
- Image and self-esteem
- Involvement in research projects and developing accessible research resources
- Individual communication skills work using specialist software and apps
- Technology skills support and courses
- Reading group
- Assertiveness skills for carers and confidence building
- Therapeutic activity using art, music, exercise,
In 2020, the stroke network provided funding to support development of an "At Home" service which help increased activity during lockdown to support people remotely and assist SLTs with input much earlier in the journey. This will continue but the team are now re-starting more face to face support across the region and from their offices in Ramsbottom. As with many voluntary sector organisations, funding is a big issue with the future always uncertain and the charity are urgently seeking funding to continue. Talk to the team by email or visit their website.
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