In 1999 we decided to move from Yorkshire to Gloucestershire in
search of healing therapies for Jenny: she had suffered multiple yatrogenic strokes, which left her globally aphasic, semi-paralysed and with reduced vision. We also wanted to be closer to our families.
As there was
no aphasia support in the county, we decided to make contact with like-minded people; in January 2001 we started a self-help group for aphasic adults: Gloucestershire Speakability.
Aphasia. From the beginning we both
wanted to learn more about this
invisible disability.
We
attended network meetings, workshops and conferences. We
visited dysphasia support groups in other counties.
We kept hearing about
250,00 aphasic people, but never met more than a handful.
Friends: we talked to some of our newly found aphasic friends: they told us of the
barriers facing them in everyday life: little or
no speech and language therapy, health care professionals poor communication skills, lack of support in the community, lack of aphasia awareness, few opportunities.
But, we also talked about
hope and aspirations.
We spoke of
our vision and it seemed it was what
everyone wanted: re-learn skills, such as
numeracy, literacy, cooking, have the
courage to answer the phone, maybe
drive again, and
learn new skills:
painting, counselling, IT, photography and more .
Find employment, go on holidays, and all those other things people normally do.
We all wanted to be
accepted by society, get off benefits, and
contribute to the communities we lived in best we could.
But, how go about all this when society Dis-ables you?
Well, this is when we decided we should try to help
En-able aphasic people and that's how and why Aphasia Now was born in January 2005.
Our vision & our plan: create an
aphasia-friendly website as a
forum for aphasic adults;
encourage each other to
share experiences and
pass on our aphasia expertise.
The Dream: find a
retreat were
aphasic people can meet, exchange ideas, support each other, have fun, explore the arts, try alternative therapies, mix with people of all cultures, and make friends!
Our call: if you are aphasic, or know of someone aphasic, then
you can help by
passing on your experiences and
share information. In this way
You Help Others and
we can all learn to live with Aphasia.
We both hope Aphasia Now can help you on your
road to recovery and
inspire you and your family and your friends!
Muchos saludos and best wishes
Jenny & Wille Dautlich