Aphasia Center Hosts Awareness Month Fundraiser

Long Island University Post’s Aphasia Center is hosting its annual fundraiser for National Aphasia Awareness Month in June.

The center, which offers a variety of programs that treat adults suffering from aphasia, will have a bake sale and sell aphasia awareness bracelets throughout the month. All proceeds will benefit either the National Aphasia Association or the National Stroke Association.

National Aphasia Awareness Month is “a national campaign to increase public education around the language disorder and to recognize the numerous people who are living with or caring for people with aphasia,” according to the Stroke Association’s official website.

“Aphasia is a speech language disorder as a result of stroke, head injury, infection or any other neurological condition,” said Barbra Lederer, a clinical supervisor at the Aphasia Center. “It can affect speaking, understanding, reading and writing. Intelligence is not lost, but it is masked.”

Lederer works with a team of professionals and graduate students to assist individuals suffering from the disorder. They are tasked with encouraging clients to verbalize or otherwise communicate their thoughts, opinions and concerns.

“Our center offers those with aphasia a place to go whereby they can socialize with others who are also afflicted,” she said. “It’s a safe place for them.”

The center specializes in social communication, providing an assortment of activities geared toward working on interaction and bettering speech in a setting in which clients feel comfortable. The programs are targeted at goals ranging from giving care to clients suffering from aphasia to assisting family members coping with a loved one’s newly onset difficulty with communication skills.

Activities include participating in a book club, sharing move reviews, discussing current events, talking about sports, acting in role playing models and taking part in games such as Wii bowling.

“It’s all about socialization and offering them a place to meet people, and to practice their speech in a nonjudgmental environment,” said Gail Weissman, another clinical supervisor at the center. “I love helping them to improve their quality of life.”

The program meets biweekly, for four hours on Mondays and two hours on Wednesdays. During this time, graduate student clinicians use a variety of techniques that support the clients to speak or communicate in any way they can.

“After over 30 years of practicing speech language pathology I am still energized by helping people communicate when they have difficulty doing so,” said Lederer. “It's profound when someone is able to share their thoughts and experiences after this skill was adversely affected by their neurological insult.”

For more information about the Aphasia Center or inquiries on program registration, call the Long Island University Post’s Ladge Speech and Hearing Center at (516) 299-2437 or email Dr. Joyce Rubenstein at jrubenst@liu.edu.