Hello!

June is Aphasia Awareness Month, and the good news is that more people know what aphasia is! Now 40% of Americans have heard of aphasia and can identify it as a language disorder, up from only 7% just 3 years ago. And the number of people who have heard the word aphasia has increased nearly 500% since 2020. That's fantastic progress! The more people are aware, the easier it is for those with aphasia to share their diagnosis and be faced with understanding.

But for those of us who know all too well what aphasia is, there's still more to learn. I want to share this graphic with you that I created and shared back in early 2020. I clued into the power of this visual when I saw families sharing it in aphasia support groups years later. It's based on a similar concept of how autism has many facets, and each individual is unique. Take a moment to look:

Every person with aphasia is different. They have unique strengths and weaknesses, and those aren't limited to the language skills affected directly by the stroke.

It's just as important to look at the relative strengths in motivation and confidence as it is reading and writing. A person's support system and mood can play a huge role in their prognosis for recovery.

While aphasia affects language, not intellect, we know that there are many cognitive processes affected by the same brain injury that caused the aphasia. Often attention, memory, and problem-solving are impaired alongside language. And sometimes the language impairment makes remembering and planning harder.

We cannot reduce aphasia to "mild" or "severe" without considering the position of each of these sliders. We must look at the impact the aphasia has on a person's life. I know a man who doesn't say a word, but that doesn't keep him down at all. I also know a woman who speaks quite well, but her confidence is shot, so she stays at home.
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I hope you'll use this visual to better understand how variable aphasia is, but also to think about which sliders need bolstering and which can be used to lessen the impact of aphasia on life.

Keep spreading the word about aphasia! People are learning about it through the news, school, celebrity diagnosis, and social media. Every bit of awareness and advocacy helps - in June and all year long!

All the best,

Megan

P.S. Thank you to everyone who tells others about our apps and website. Your referrals mean so much to us and allow us to keep creating innovative software and resources to help more people. An easy way to share our apps and resources is to download and print or email our brochure.