LIFE Beyond Aphasia

#55 Taming Godzilla Brain When You Have Aphasia   Godzilla Brain is a term that describes the interruption of communication processing due to emotional stimulation. Speech pathologists must create a supportive community and individualize treatments based on the person’s identity, preferences, and important relationships to address communication breakdowns effectively. Calming exercises like contro...

#54 Positive Matters Finding Hope and Moving Forward after Head Injury with Matt Thomas ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Matt shares his 32-year story of surviving and thriving after a three-month coma and traumatic brain injury, how he finds motivation and a sense of humor to keep moving forward, and his mission of supporting those with brain injuries to live their best lives.   😎 What you need to know about Mat...

Episode #53 Thriving with Aphasia + Disability Sports with Avi Golden “Listen to me for people with aphasia, don't worry. Work and laugh.” - Avi Golden   ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Avi Golden talks about his stroke and aphasia journey and how he uses it to teach others. He also talks about the wonder of disability sports.    ☀️HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE☀️ A CHALLENGE FOR YOU ABOUT AVI AVI'S THOUGHTS ON BEI...

Episode #52 Visual Supports for Aphasia Communication  and Three Aphasia Questions Answered "I am here to support the aphasia community. I'm here to get the message out. Make aphasia. A household word, right? Is that the right way to put it? Because so many people have never heard the word. And if we want the folks that we love, who have aphasia to feel included, we have to get the word out. " - G...

Episode #51 Aphasia Continuum of Care at the Aphasia Center of West Texas “The motivation and the participation in that person with Aphasias hands. You get to decide how much you attend our center. You get to decide what days you come, or if you're not feeling it that day, that's okay too.” - Kanada White.   ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Aphasia Center of West Texas was founded by a stroke survivor with the goa...

Episode #50 Making Aphasia Connections, Virtually with Allie Reed "So the life participation approach is finding ways to engage in life. Engage in those activities that, that bring you joy and bring you fulfillment while also having aphasia. And Ling Graphica is based off of this model Aphasia Recovery Connection is based off of this model." - Allie Reed   ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Allie Reed, a speech path...

Episode #49  iPhone Resource for Aphasia + What I Learned About Aphasia with Shayli Brink “We Encourage people to use those other modalities of communication. It's not like we're just stuck to this one form of verbal communication, right? If they can figure out how to communicate in other ways, it helps them live and participate in activities.“ - Shayli Brink   ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Shayli Brink, Genevi...

#48 The Power of Storytelling in Aphasia Rehabilitation with Katie Strong “Stories are the fabric of who we are as people.” - Katie Strong.   ☀️DESCRIPTION☀️ Katie Strong, a professor at Central Michigan University, leads the Strong Story Lab where she helps people with aphasia develop their story!   ☀️HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE☀️ AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY PROJECT BRI...

Episode #47 Aphasia Stroke Survivor & Author Keith "Krusher" Rush Shares His Journey, Insights, and How He Became an Author “You gotta hang on in there, brother, sister. I swear it’s a hard journey. I never knew 13 years ago I would be sitting right here because life is not guaranteed for nobody.” - Keith “Krusher” Rush   DESCRIPTION Meet Krusher, who has found his purpose as an author after t...

Episode #46 Keeping Aphasia Warriors + Stroke Survivors Safe in their Homes “We try to make it as seamless as possible where it does just feel like an extension of the family.” - Evan Ransome   DESCRIPTION Golden Home Management is there for you and your home. Evan discusses how his business conducts regular maintenance for your home and helps adapt your home so it is safe and accessible for you. ...

Episode #45 Lessons from Aphasia Internship and Working Memory Project with Zoe Davis “Adults with aphasia present with working memory deficits that may contribute to their language prompt difficulties.” - Zoe Davis   DESCRIPTION Zoe Davis, an intern at LIFE Speech Pathology, shares her education experience and her final project on Verbal Working Memory!   HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE SPEECH PATHO...

Episode #44 Parenting with Aphasia and Serving the Aphasia Community in Private Practice “I do something different with every single person I work with, but tapping into what they are motivated about and what they are driven to do is the best place to start with when it comes to delivering this type of therapy.” - Lauren Schwabish.   DESCRIPTION Lauren Schwabish, an SLP living in D.C., shares how...

Episode #43 Medication Response and Genetics for the Aphasia & Stroke Community with Dr. Cari Lalande “Help by Genetics was created to help patients to create a new healthcare solution for our patients.” - Dr. Cari Lalande   DESCRIPTION Dr. Cari Lalande discusses how Health by Genetics will assess your medications and lifestyle with your genetics. Their goal is to ensure that the patient is on...

Episode #42 San Antonio Aphasia Network “Just because you have aphasia, does not mean you cannot achieve lifelong goals.” - Cathy Torrington Eaton.   DESCRIPTION Cathy has created an amazing summer program that allows therapy for people with aphasia and training for second-year graduate students.    HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE INTENSIVE APHASIA PROGRAM BEING A PART OF THE INTENSIVE APHASIA PROGRA...

Episode #41 MedConcerns App with Hilary and Steve, a Ground Breaking App for Aphasia Communication "It's so essential in that first moment to let somebody know what happened and then to be able to support..., our app can do that." - Hilary   DESCRIPTION This revolutionary app will help people with aphasia communicate their symptoms to a medical professional. The app can be helpful for someone with...

Episode #40 Aphasia, Discussing Memory and Cognition "Memory can build off working memory, but memory has to be encoded. It has to be practiced, it has to be related to something." - Genevieve Richardson   DESCRIPTION Working memory is your mental chalkboard. A person can hold seven pieces of information, give or take two, at a time in your working memory. It must be practiced to store it in your...

Episode #39 Aphasia, Stroke, and Aging Resources with Kim and Mike Barns of Parenting Aging Parents "Do not get upset about what is missing; love what is still there." - Mark Barns.   DESCRIPTION So many people feel alone when talking about this life change. Parenting Aging Parents provides support and guidance to everyone through their website, support group, and Facebook group.    HIGHLIGHTS OF...

Episode #38 Goddess Aphasia, Author Shai Anbar "Aphasia: Goddess of lost words... to me, there's a slice of divinity in all of us, no matter your religion or denomination." - Shai Anbar.    DESCRIPTION Aphasia is a Greek word meaning “speechless.” He thought about all Greek goddesses and realized that Aphasia could be the goddess of lost words.   HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE SHAI ANBAR GODDESS APH...

Episode #37: Aphasia Survivors Dare To Rest with Mollie Miller "We have to give ourselves permission to rest, and that's part of the battle to slowing down." - Mollie Miller.   DESCRIPTION Aphasia survivors and families who care for them have to take the time to rest to prevent burnout. Learn strategies to learn how to rest.  We have to take the time to rest to prevent burnout.   HIGHLIGHTS FROM T...

Episode #36 Venturing Out with Dementia or Stroke with Mary Osborne "I love all my clients, but you know, throw rugs are not your friend." - Genevieve Richardson   DESCRIPTION Understanding the goals and fears of the loved one before venturing out of the loved one's comfort zone is important.    HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE HOW TO GET SOMEONE OUT OF THE HOUSE: A COVID EXAMPLE HOW TO GET SOMONE OUT...

Episode #35 Lessons from Life Participation Approach Aphasia Conference "The number one indicator of the quality of life for a person is whether or not they have aphasia." - Genevieve Richardson   DESCRIPTION As speech pathologists at the acute care level, one of them is as simple as starting a communication book. We're discussing a list of the best ways for the person to communicate. This communi...

30 Days of Gratitude April 1 to April 30, 2023   DESCRIPTION Gratitude is simply the importance of being thankful. Gratitude requires reflection and stillness. In the three days, I've been practicing it. I can't believe I haven't done this consistently before, so I'm going for consistency and being in the moment. So I'm trying to keep this super simple so that I will do my 30 days. Part of the rea...

Episode #34 LIFE Participation Approach Aphasia with Dr. Melinda Corwin "It's wonderful to get to interact with our colleagues in other professions and to cross-educate each other about what each profession does and how we can be better providers." - Dr. Melinda Corwin.   DESCRIPTION Within our Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences program, I get to direct the STAR Program, and STAR stand...

Episode #33 Stroke Survivor Aaron Avila is Making a Difference for Survivors "Your purpose and the reason to live and the reason to do what you're doing, and it's really the key to helping people." -Aaron Avila, #Stroke TV Media   DESCRIPTION Meet Aaron Avila, a stroke survivor who found his purpose and pulled himself from depression by supporting the stroke community.  Aaron shares his story and...

Episode #32 Mindset is King in Aphasia Rehab   DESCRIPTION We will talk about how mindset, support, and advocacy help a person with aphasia move forward in their treatment.   HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE MINDSET MATTERS STRATEGIES FOR MINDSET BACKSLIDING   Grab a copy of our eBook Top Tips for Aphasia Communication + Self-Care   For more content from this episode, including a Reader's Guide and Ex...