Until this week I did not know what aphasia was, a communication disability which occurs when the communication centres of the brain are damaged. But on Monday I had the privilege to join the Winchester SayAphasia group and meet members who were able to explain more to me, and tell me about their personal struggles since the stroke, tumour or haemorrhage that had caused their condition.
Whilst the condition affects people differently, and many of the Winchester group were at very different stages of their recovery journey, the frustration at the lack of access to speech and language therapists was pretty much universal.
We had an interesting discussion about the support available from local Councils, with Test Valley providing a discount on Council Tax whereas other nearby local authorities did not.
One of the challenges with Aphasia is that, like me, few people have heard of it, yet there are many people living with aphasia as there are with visual impairment. Because aphasia makes communication so hard it increases loneliness and isolation, and, from the interaction I had with the members of the Winchester group, it is very frustrating for them.
The Winchester group meet every other Monday from 10am as a drop in, at the Parish of St Peter Pastoral Centre on Jewry Street, and new members are always welcome. www.sayaphasia.org/winchester