Walk, Talk, Roll Part 1
May 6th, 2014
On June 8, 2014, as part of the downtown Toronto Challenge charity race, my husband James and my two young children will join me in the annual Walk, Talk ‘n Roll event in support of the Aphasia Institute.
We have participated in this walk for many years and my favourite walk “moments” come when I see every member of the Aphasia Institute taking part whether by wheelchair, by scooter or with walking aids. Some participants have not tackled a distance of 1K or 5K since before their stroke. There is a determination to finish and a team atmosphere that I cannot fully describe. You have to be there!
Julie and I support the Aphasia Institute because, as part of our work, we see the courage of people living with aphasia on a daily basis. Aphasia is an acquired disorder caused by damage to the brain through stroke, brain tumor or a brain injury. People with aphasia experience difficulty understanding, talking, reading and writing though thinking is intact. They experience difficulty communicating with those around them – family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours.
How do we maintain important relationships in our lives? How do we fulfill our life roles at home, at work and in the community? How do we show people how smart, how thoughtful or how witty we are?
How do we conduct almost every minute of our day – through communicating our wants, needs, feelings and thoughts.
Imagine what your life would be like with aphasia.
Participation in this event is a great highlight of my year. Raising donations is crucial to support a wide range of innovative programs and tools that help families, like those with whom we have the honor of working, to reduce conversation barriers and return to ‘being themselves’. This is the way we Walk, Talk and Roll on with life!
Our best,
Lee-Ann
Communication Aids – MyVoice
August 11th, 2011
With the explosion of ‘apps’ (web or computer software applications for those less versed in all things techie) come many powerful tools for communication. The type of functionality these apps offer used to be provided by augmentative communication devices which tended to be expensive and more difficult to access. Now, many people with communication challenges such as our clients with Aphasia, Apraxia or Parkinson’s Disease have a smart phone and other personal devices such as an iPod Touch and iPad. Communication aids to target this market combine text, picture support and voice output to give people with communication challenges a voice.
The app we want to let you know about today is called MyVoice. MyVoice allows the user to customize vocabulary so he can express wants and needs (e.g. order a cup of coffee), ask a question or participate in a conversation. MyVoice has various folders with multiple levels that are organized for ease of use and free flow of conversation.
There are a variety of voices to choose from for voice output allowing the client to customize a voice that sounds like his or hers. You can add your own photos and custom phrases. A really nice feature of this app is that it has “location awareness”. This means that you can save a location and relevant language (vocabulary, functional phrases, questions etc.) and then based on your physical location these relevant items can be accessed easily. So for example, if you love your Double Double from Tim Horton’s and you always meet your friend there to talk about sports you can access all these words and phrases just by walking into the Tim Horton’s and choosing the Place Mode option.
We are still exploring uses for this app with our clients. The nice thing is that the basic version is a FREE app. There is a monthly fee option for more custom words, phrases and pictures.
You can find out more information here: myvoiceaac.com
We would love to hear from people who are currently using this app. What is your opinion? What works and does not work for you?
Our best,
Julie & Lee-Ann
Welcome to Beyond Words SLP
May 30th, 2011
Welcome to our first blog entry at Beyond Words S-LP. We are so excited about this opportunity to reach a wider audience and talk of the work about which we are passionate – speech and language therapy. So, we thought we would start by laying some of the groundwork in this first post.
First of all, did you know that May is Speech and Hearing Month? Check out our national association website at http://www.caslpa.ca/. The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists has recently rebranded May month to really speak to what we want to accomplish as speech and hearing professionals.
The site has a lot of good information about communication and swallowing disorders. We have included a handout on swallowing below but there is much, much more.
This brings us to our site and what you can expect to read over the course of this blog. Many people think they know what we do – “you fix speech problems don’t you?”. Well, yes and no, it depends on whether you have a speech problem, a language problem, a voice problem, a problem with cognitive-communication skills…
We want to demystify the speech and language therapy process – particularly for the groups we serve (people with: brain injury, voice disorders, swallowing difficulties, language-learning disorders). What is it that we do? How do we do it? How can a better understanding of what is involved in speech and language therapy help you and your family get the most out of the experience?
We also want to share strategies and tips we have learned over the many years in working with our clients. This is especially true of our technology tips. Technology can make a BIG difference in the lives of people with communication difficulties but so often it seems difficult to navigate and it is hard to stay current with what is available.
Finally, we want to introduce you to new learning opportunities that we come across such as good courses and conferences for people with communication challenges and their families.
Our best,
Julie & Lee-Ann