Chief Executive, Melanie Derbyshire, warmly welcomed those attending and introduced the evening by explaining that the Mary Law Lecture was a tribute to the mother of the charity’s founder, Diana Law. She also explained that Speakability aimed to rebuild communication by offering information, help, reassurance, and practical tips and resources for dealing with the many challenges of life with Aphasia. Speakability’s aim was to remove the barriers to a full life.
By way of further explanation, Melanie said that;
“Speakability staff and volunteers help people to communicate better by exploring a whole range of methods – be it writing, drawing, using pictures, gesture or facial expression. When you feel equally involved in a conversation, when you relax and don’t feel so pressured about getting something wrong, you’d be surprised how much easier it is to get your message across.
By encouraging people with Aphasia to tap into their inner strength and resources, we motivate to discover all their skills and then to use them to take back control of their own lives. For some people, a local Speakability Self-Help Group is a good way back because they have the support and understanding of a real network of friends and they are there for the long term. Life is no longer broken. Life is centred on what you ‘can do’ and there is renewed hope and confidence for the future. Our campaigning and influencing work is very much a part of this empowerment.”
Melanie then introduced the keynote presenters - four people with Aphasia each offering a personal insight into their experience of Aphasia and the part that Speakability had played in their recovery journey.
Arlene Garrison was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After an operation to remove it, she was left with Aphasia. She describes Aphasia as follows, “Aphasia is like having a jar of sweets, but you can’t get the lid off! You know what you want to say, but the words are all jumbled up and cannot come out.”
Arlene is now part of the Speakability team who encouraged her to play her part in her own recovery. She now volunteers at the charity’s central office in Waterloo and can often be seen working on the database or helping with mailings.
Even though recovery has been good, Aphasia is a long term disability which comes and goes during periods of stress or tiredness. Arlene reports, “I still struggle with my words sometimes. Numbers get mixed up and I can’t always remember things.”
With appropriate support from her friends at Speakability, this isn’t sufficient to stop her helping the charity and the benefits of rebuilt confidence and a positive ‘can do’ attitude are characterised by her smiling face.
Dr. Jenny Dautlich practised as a GP before she had a heart attack and multiple strokes whilst on holiday. Jenny says that speech therapy, complementary therapies and involvement in a local Speakability Self-Help Group were beneficial in her recovery.
Jenny believes that people who have had a stroke with Aphasia should have access to complementary therapies e.g. painting and singing), psychological support and intensive speech and language therapy to aid their recovery.
As a result of her personal experience, Jenny was motivated to create the ‘Aphasia Now’ web-based support network of people with Aphasia.
| Left to right: Dr. Jenny Dautlich and Melanie Derbyshire |
Stuart Brown had his stroke in 2008 and lost his ability to speak, read and write. This was a big problem in hospital because he couldn’t read the menus - he says he just ticked random boxes! Stuart was also frustrated in hospital; he had not lost the ability to walk and he used to walk around the hospital.
Once, when walking around the hospital, he went out of the hospital and walked to a local retail park where he bought a shirt, and no-one seemed to notice! Stuart lists using a dictionary as well as Speech and Language Therapy and being talked to, and not at, amongst the things that helped him in his recovery.
Stuart also recalls being asked to name a dolphin and a giraffe from pictures. He struggled because there aren’t any dolphins or giraffes where he lives and he hadn’t seen one for years!
Stuart did make the journey back to work and gave some tips on making that transition: fatigue was a big problem and having a friend at work to help him worked very well for him.
Stuart’s highlight of 2012 was his position as a Volunteer Team Member in the Command Control & Communication centre in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Stuart wore his ‘Games Makers’ uniform at the Mary Law Lecture to inspire us too!
| Left to right: Janet Rockliffe, Stuart Brown and Arlene Garrison |
Janet Rockcliffe gave an excellent, well-honed presentation which has also been heard at the UK Stroke Forum Conference. She experienced a severe Brain Haemorrhage and has Aphasia as a result of this.
Janet has worked for Speakability since 2003 and has been helping Speakability ever since she started her own Self-Help Group for Speakability in Kendal.
She is also the UK representative for the Aphasia International Association (A.I.A.) and is involved in the Stroke Research Network amongst other projects.
Janet has made an amazing recovery and it is sometimes difficult to tell that she has Aphasia which is testament to all the hard work she has put in herself to rebuild her communication skills. Her total commitment to the self-help philosophy has made a huge difference to her confidence and ability to use all methods of self-expression.
Of the many comments received from those attending the Lecture, the most common was surprise at the amount of recovery all the speakers had made and how inspiring it was to see them making their presentations and proving doctors wrong who said they would never walk or talk again.
All the speakers had benefitted from the work of Speakability and the opportunity that the charity offers to explore the self-help philosophy as part of the Aphasia recovery journey.
Speakability relies totally on donations so that it can continue to offer its information service and UK wide network of self-help initiatives. There are an estimated 250,000 people with Aphasia in the UK and in these difficult economic times, this is a group of people and a disability which will be increasingly ignored unless Speakability is better aided in raising awareness.
As an event presented by people with Aphasia, the 2012 Mary Law Lecture marks an important milestone in Diana Law’s legacy. We are extremely grateful to our inspirational speakers and everyone who supported the event, whether as attendees or as hospitality and technical volunteers.
