Our communication workshops were created by stroke survivors with lived experience of aphasia supported by a speech and language therapist. They’re a chance to learn about what’s actually going on inside your brain when you’ve got aphasia, how that presents and how to work with that in the best way you can.
The workshop provides an opportunity for people with communication difficulties to practise communicating, but also to share their experiences and listen to other experiences and perspectives. It can be really valuable for friends and family who might want to come along to learn about how they can best support and communicate with their loved one, but it can also be a place to get support themselves.
We enjoy running these workshops, because they’re a chance to really get to know our clients and to watch them develop, socially and with their speech. Most people aren’t told much about aphasia or other communication difficulties and some don’t even know that’s what they’re experiencing! It feels like a lot of progress is made throughout the workshops and it’s wonderful to help people along that journey.
People have found the workshops to be a space where they’re really understood, in a way that might not be possible in other areas of their lives. Family and friends frequently say that it’s given them a better understanding of their loved one and allowed them to be more supportive, while also giving them a place where they can talk about how they’re doing.
It can also provide a space where people are given the time to talk at their own pace, which gives them the confidence to keep practising and using their speech
We run these workshops regularly throughout they year, if you're interested in attending contact your Key Worker or the Office.