Aphasia health fair connects community to resources

June is National Aphasia Awareness Month, helping bring awareness to the condition affecting millions of Americans. Most commonly caused by having a stroke, aphasia is a language disorder that impacts a person’s ability to understand and express language. 

To raise awareness, UB hosted the third annual Aphasia Health Fair on June 6 in Hayes Hall on UB’s South Campus. The free event was open to the public and sponsored by the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences (CDS), offering free resources and vital information about aphasia. Participants were able to engage with experts and community members about the daily realities and challenges faced by those living with aphasia and their communication partners.

While recent aphasia disclosures by celebrities like Emilia Clarke and Bruce Willis have started to help increase awareness about the condition, there is still work to do in providing inclusive communities for people living with aphasia.

“Events like the UB Aphasia Health Fair highlight how we put action behind words,” says Nichol Castro, assistant professor in CDS. “We are not only increasing aphasia awareness by talking about aphasia, but we are also building a community of support that is growing every year. 

“People with aphasia and their loved ones received critical information and resources to support recovery and improve quality of life,” she adds. “Students learned about aphasia directly from people impacted by aphasia. Community partners affirmed their commitment to connecting across disciplinary boundaries to address the needs of people impacted by aphasia.”

Castro also noted there is more the community can do to help those who have aphasia, such as giving people more time when communicating and being patient when someone with aphasia is talking. The fair discussed helpful tips like supporting their communication with alternative modalities, like pointing, drawing or writing. There are also devices that can help with communication, and apps to supplement speech-language therapy. 

Thirty community members, among them previous research participants and current clients of CDS’ Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Clinic, attended the fair, which included two dozen vendor participants who shared resources and information. 

The keynote presentation came from Dr. Lisa Keenan-Uschold, chief clinical psychologist at Erie County Medical Center. She spoke on the topic of “Counseling beyond words: Supporting people with aphasia.” Her talk emphasized the need to address the significant emotional challenges faced by people with aphasia. Aphasia is not just a loss of language, but also a change in identity, autonomy, and how we connect and belong with others.  

Among the vendors at the UB Aphasia Health Fair:

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Provides resources to save lives and support people affected by suicide.
• Diversified Rehabilitation Services: Provides speech, language and hearing services in Western New York.
• Neuro Speech Solutions: Offers speech and language services for people with aphasia and other communication disorders. 
• ECMC Driver Education and Adaptive Driving Program: Offers adaptive driving support, such as left-hand/foot controls in a car.
• UB Adult Language Network Lab: Researchers aim to improve assessment and treatment for people with aphasia.
• UB Communication Recovery Collective: A communication support group for people with aphasia.
• UBMD Neurology: Provides stroke education and resources. 
• Erie County Medical Center Outpatient Services: Offers an interdisciplinary team addressing functional performance and quality of life.
• Erie County Medical Center Rehabilitation Psychology: Provides evaluation and counseling resources.
• Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center: Provides speech, language and hearing services in Western New York.
• UB Department of Rehabilitation Science - Physical Therapy:Provides resources and education on physical therapy for stroke survivors. 
• Kaleida Health Stroke Survivors Support Group: Offers a monthly support group for stroke survivors and caregivers.
• UB Audiology: Provides education on hearing assessment and administered free hearing screens at the event.
• UB Speech-Language Pathology: Provides speech and language services, and education on augmentative and alternative communication for people with aphasia.

The department plans to host the event again next year. For more information, visit the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Clinic website.