Celebrating Success in Aphasia Recovery
Yes, success in life and in aphasia recovery is built on attention, action, commitment and support.
Our clients recovering from aphasia do not allow failure nor frustration to stop them from traveling the pathway of recovery.
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Coach Sharon - "What I have learned about aphasia & cognition "
Editor's Note: Success starts with a single step and determination.
Before her stroke, Sharon was a professional researcher and writer with many years of experience.
Not being able to speak, to understand, nor write was not an option for her.
In this video, Newsletter Editor Sharon Rennhack talks about her aphasia recovery, focus and determination; she also discusses her work as a coach. Like Paul Berger (see below), she has co-presented with Bill Connors in both national and international venues.
See her video here:
Time: 14:07
- For information on her recovery, email her at
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Client Laura - "How I help my recovery"
Client Laura Cobb knows about success. She is a 27 year old woman who has made remarkable recovery after suffering a stroke with aphasia and apraxia when she was hit by a drunk driver. At the time of the accident, Laura was a senior in college. She plans to go back to college to finish her degree.
"When I was hit by a drunk driver seven years ago, I had a stroke with aphasia and apraxia.
Now, I work on my speech using telepractice (one-on-one sessions, 4 times a week) and I also join two conversational groups offered by aphasiatoolbox.
Currently, I'm working on prepositions and modals; I also work on my writing using compound and complex sentences.
I do volunteer work at my local hospital - Missouri Baptist Hospital, twice a week. I work in the physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy department on Tuesdays and Fridays. This is how I can help others who have had strokes. This past weekend, I ran in the "Stampede for Stroke" race in my hometown of St Louis, MO. After I finished the race, I got a ribbon that said, "I'll Never Give Up!" I enjoy being active and being physically fit. This helps my recovery.
Yes, I like to keep myself busy! "
Laura
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Client Tim - How Tim uses innovative tools to help his recovery
We like receiving mail from our clients! We received the following email from Danielle Pfautz exclaiming the achievements her husband Tim has made in his ability to communicate working in an online, intensive program with aphasiatoolbox® staff. A new part of his program consisted of working with graduate students from Bloomsburg,University via telepractice.
Here's her email:
Hi Bill and staff,
I wanted to let you know that I spoke to Tim this evening and he definitely would like to continue with your graduate students. He really enjoys working with them and is excited to start a new session with them at the semester change.
Thanks again for thinking of him and providing some "out of the box"ways to get him more invested in his own recovery. I think he is at that point now...not something he was at, I would say probably 6 months to a year ago. He definitely has come a long way with wanting to participate and sending emails daily with the homework he is given. It no longer seems like a chore but rather just part of his daily routine. I think he is really proud to say to people "How are you?" after they say hi to him.I think he likes the look on their faces when they can witness him saying a sentence.
Only good things are to come and I am hopeful that he will have a few more short sentences to say in the year to come. Thanks for helping to give Tim his voice back!! So glad we found you and your team.
Sincerely, Danielle Pfautz
For information on how aphasiatoolbox can help you get your voice back, contact us at
[email protected] or at 724.494.2534.
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Staff member Paul - How I returned to work
Talk about achievements!
In October 2015, aphasiatoolbox® client and staff member Paul Berger presented on "Returning to work after stroke" to the U.S . Patent and Trademark Office as part of National Disability Employment Month".
Paul's successes include authoring many books including "How to Conquer the World With One Hand...And an Attitude" and co-presenting with Bill Connors in both national and international venues.
See his Youtube video: Time: 12 minutes
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The online writing group at aphasiatoolbox helps people recovering from aphasia (PRA) to improve their ability to express themselves by writing.
We're now offering two different levels of writing groups:
> The Level 1 course will work from the canonical (subject-verb-object); to the compound sentence; to a short paragraph.
> The Level 2 course will work on compound and complex sentences, passive/active voice, conjunctions, prepositions, and paragraph level writing.
Proofreading techniques and peer review tasks will be incorporated into the course.
The course instructors will also work on such issues as active listening, parts of speech; spelling; word recall; terminology and resources; and narrative. Participants in these group will be expected to work on their writing every day and forward weekly written work to the instructors for review and practice ideas.
For information contact us at
[email protected]. Write "Writing Group" in the Subject line.
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Act now to jump
start
your
recovery.
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HOLIDAY EDITION:
November/December 2015:
"Celebrating Success in Aphasia Recovery"
December 8, 2015
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November/December 2015 -Holiday Edition
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Win a membership to aphasiatoolbox® !
Success has been defined as: "The achievement of something desired."
Send us your definition of success to:
[email protected]. Two entries will be selected at random to receive a full-year membership to aphasiatoolbox.com® .
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This is Sharon Rennhack, the chief editor for the aph
asiatoolbox® newsletter.
The staff of Aphasiatoolbox
wishes you the best of holidays!
For this double edition,
we are celebrating aphasia success and
recovery
with
a focus on
"
what I've learned about aphasia treatment and practice."
Here, we discuss the meaning of success and the elements that allow for success; we show how working with Aphasiatoolbox.com® has helped clients to improve their communication leading to success and recovery. At Aphasiatoolbox®, you define your own success; You tell us what you want to accomplish, then we help you get there.
We have included these videos and articles:
- Genevieve discusses Primary Progressive Aphasia;
- Sharon discusses the importance of reconnection and cognition in recovery;
- Danielle, wife of Tim, sent us an email discussing his success;
- Paul, in a presentation he gave in October, talks about going back to work;
- Laura talks about how being active helps her recovery;
- In his video, Bill Connors offers training in 2 treatment/practice techniques and provides needed materials.;
- The new SLP-aphasiatoolbox® Collaboration Program is announced.
For information on how our therapists and coaches can help you to successfully reach your goals, please contact us at
[email protected]
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Sharon Rennhack
Chief Editor
Aphasiatoolbox
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Year-end Review - Aphasiatoolbox®
Happy Holidays from aphasiatoolbox® !
2015 has been a time of tremendous growth at ATB!
Our Social Network is growing:
More than 22,0000 people with aphasia, caregivers, SLPs and other professionals follow and interact with us via Facebook; newsletters; Linked; Twitter and other formats.
Our clients are talking and communicating better:
See the comments by Tim and Danielle Pfautz
Our treatment effectiveness has grown:
We have recently incorporated
mindfulness into our
aphasia treatment, practice and recovery with incredible results! Seven of our clients were able to quickly overcome difficulties answering yes/no and either/or questions using the mindful technique we developed this year. SEE the last month's edition with Bill Connors discussing his use of mindfulness for aphasia recovery.
Aphasiatoolbox® groups are growing:
- Aphasia Conversation Cafes on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday;
- Women's Aphasia Group Cafe- twice a month;
- Men's Group Cafe- weekly;
- Practice Coaches Group Cafe- twice a month; learn how to improve your client's / partner's practice time.
- Aphasia Writing Group - basic and intermediate;
- Aphasia case studies cafe - SLP group facilitated by Bill Connors and staff for discussions on treatment techniques; neuroplasticity; and Q&A. Bring your questions and difficult cases.
Cafes are free of charge for
aphasiatoolbox® members and collaborating SLPs. Aphasia cafes are a place where we use telepractice to meet each other, practice conversation and have fun in a safe and encouraging environment.
Visit the aphasiatoolbox® calendar for details.
Our treatment and practice tools are growing:
We have more online aphasia group opportunities than any other program in the world. See the videos by Genevieve and Bill.
Our collaborations and partnerships are growing:
Our sister
corporation, The Telepractice Certification Community® ,
has already trained over 100 speech pathologists and health care professionals to deliver services at a distance via telepractice. We also completed our first semester helping Bloomsburg University introduce telepractice into its graduate SLP curriculum. Visit the TCC Facebook for up to date information on telemedicine and telepractice.
Click here to join our newsletters.
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ANNOUNCING: SLP-Aphasiatoolbox® Collaboration Program
Speech-language pathologists who refer clients to aphasiatoolbox® or whose clients are members of aphasiatoolbox.com qualify for the Collaboration Program.
Benefits include:
- Complimentary membership to the aphasiatoolbox website to facilitate treatment planning and data tracking.
- Personal consultation about shared clients and aphasia recovery to assist optimal use of tools and to maximize client recovery.
- Free treatment protocols; demo videos and materials for advances in aphasia treatment sent by email twice a month.
- Participation in online aphasia case studies and Q&A sessions to share ideas and interact with peers.
- Discount to the Telepractice Certification Community - Start a telepractice; learn about telepractice; become a certified provider.
Contact Bill Connors by
email or call 724.494.2534 .
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Bill Connors discusses new ASR tools
Bill Connors demonstrates new tools for aphasia treatment and practice to support recovery success. Specifically, he discusses two new ASR exercises in the Cognitive Support Module:
1. Pairing Semantic Concepts;
2: Sequencing by Qualifiers.
Time: 4:51
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SLP Genevieve - "What I have learned about Primary Progressive Aphasia"
 In this interview with Bill Connors, ATB Staff member and SLP Genevieve Richardson discusses Primary Progressive Aphasia.
As Genevieve mentions in this video, there is no cure for PPA, but clients can still have short-term success.
See her video here:
Time: 4:13
For information on our PPA progam, contact us at 724.494.2534 or us at
[email protected]
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