Speakability Group Members speak up at Scottish Parliament Reception

The Reception was organised to present the findings of a survey of stroke survivors, who had experienced Aphasia, to Members of the Scottish Parliament. The survey - "Back to Life after Stroke" - was jointly run by Speakability, The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland and The Stroke Association in Scotland. Records show that every year in Scotland, more than 4,000 new people will experience Aphasia following a stroke.

The survey took place across Scotland in September 2008. Nearly 300 stroke survivors with Aphasia following their stroke responded to the survey and described how speech and language therapy and voluntary Aphasia support services had improved their lives.

90% of people said speech and language therapy was important both in hospital and the community. However, more than one in four of those responding to the survey said that they did not receive speech and language therapy after leaving hospital following their stroke. Of those that did, one third said they had to wait for their therapy to begin. On average, one third said they did not receive speech therapy after leaving hospital and in some parts of Scotland, this rose to nearly two thirds.

More than three-quarters said that the voluntary sector support services they have received are important, have allowed them to remain independent and have had a positive impact on their confidence and relationships with family and friends. Nearly two-thirds of those who received voluntary Aphasia support services said that they would like more of these services to be provided. One respondent wrote, "It is difficult to become part of anything when you cannot communicate and in the end you become isolated".

At the Reception, sponsored by Richard Simpson MSP, Deputy Labour Spokesperson on Health, two Speakability Self-Help Group Members, Lindsay Richardson and Helen Gowland, gave excellent presentations about their individual experiences of Aphasia. Other Scottish Group Members also attended the event along with Melanie Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Speakability.

The four campaign partners are calling on the Scottish Government to:

• improve provision of both speech and language therapy and voluntary Aphasia support services in hospital and in the community
• raise healthcare professionals' awareness of the impact that stroke can have on communication and how to support people with Aphasia
• improve the communication accessibility of all public services and the information they provide
• collate local incidence and prevalence figures of people with post-stroke Aphasia as well as data on their needs and the current provision of Aphasia support services. This data should be used to inform service development and planning.

Melanie Derbyshire said, "Community based Aphasia Self-Help Groups play a vital role in enabling people to re-build communication and their zest for life. As an empowering charity, Speakability is delighted to acknowledge the excellent contribution of Members in our Aphasia Self-Help Groups in Scotland to this survey. These people know what it is like to live with Aphasia - their views are absolutely essential if future services are to meet the true needs."