We are blessed for help with hearing

Kathryn Byrd, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Tuscaloosa
Dear Editor: May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, during which the services and accomplishments of speech-language pathologists and audiologists are recognized. As a speech-language pathologist, I am proud of those in our profession who serve children with communication impairments in schools, and, for preschoolers, in their natural environment, as well as those who serve the adult population who experience communication deficits because of strokes, accidents, disease, etc. Through their services, these individuals can lead more productive lives. Audiologists, of course, deal with hearing impairment, whose services, with our graying population, will be needed more and more.

I am a fan of the comic strip “For Better or Worse" by Lynn Patterson. How appropriate it is that in May, Better Hearing and Speech Month, there is a series on treating the grandfather Jim’s aphasia by a speech-language pathologist, and the frustrations Jim and his wife Iris experience when Jim wants to say one thing and something entirely different comes out. Patterson presents an excellent and compassionate depiction.

I hope those who experience hearing or speech/language difficulties seek help. So much can be done. We are blessed to have many excellent resources in West Alabama, with the public schools, the University of Alabama Speech and Hearing Center, Early Intervention, Easter Seals, the VA, the hospitals, etc. The phone book lists all these resources.

www.aphasiatoolbox.com .

Please visit our website and let us know what you think. We are eager for feedback so we can continue traveling that pathway of improvement. Thanks to all of you who have helped us to develop the innovative and effective treatment and self-help protocols and materials. I have had the wonderful experience of working with the best patients and caregivers ever. Thanks you all so much. What a great beginning.

DynaVox Release Visual Scene Display

Now available on the DynaVox V and Vmax is a new communication framework for individuals with chronic aphasia and traumatic brain injury. This exciting framework was developed by a collaborative team headed by Dr. David R. Beukelman, PhD, the AAC-RERC and jointly tested to ensure integration with the DynaVox Series 5 software.

The new Visual Scene Display for Aphasia and TBI allows device users to use their own contextually meaningful images or photographs for a variety of conversational situations. These new displays allow the ability to easily program conversational messages related to a person or setting, all without the need to navigate to a new page. These visual cues greatly enhance the communication experience for those with for Aphasia and TBI.

Wii Sports helps boxer recover from stroke

Here’s a heartwarming tale to start the week. Albert Liaw was a boxer, until a spontaneous stroke and brain injury laid him low. However, he’s now in rehabilitation, which includes heavy use of… Wii Sports Boxing!

Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is using Wii Sports to help patients regain lost movement, and get their brains back up to speed. It’s not just boxing either, but also the tennis and golf elements of Wii Sports.

Good Dog Foundation Helps Patients Recover

The Good Dog Foundation is a pet friendly program that helps patients recover.

Robert Dresel is one of those people.

Robert was a decorated US Navy commander until he retired with his family to a farm in Virginia.

Bob says his great love was singing as a member of a barbershop quartet until six years ago when he suffered from a stroke and now he can remember the words, he just can not say them.

Bob suffers from aphasia which is an impairment of the ability to use or comprehend words.

Some speech pathologists use therapy dogs from the Good Dog Foundation to help their patients.

The dogs can not help the patients speak, but they can help them escape. "They are nonjudgmental. They are going to wait and be patient and give love. People don't understand, and they get a little impatient and they want to move on and they're saying is it this, is it that? And dogs aren't doing that, they're just giving their love,” says Ellen Potter, speech pathologist.

The Center For Music Therapy

HRIS STEPAN - BEFORE THE ACCIDENT At the age of 17, Chris Stepan was a popular, good-looking athlete who loved playing high school football and spending time with his friends. Chris was the jovial type of young man who exhibited a tough physique but really had a very genuine caring and loving heart for others. Chris and his brother Darren and parents had an especially close relationship with each other so the impact of the car accident greatly affected the entire family unit. The night of Saturday, April 13, 1996, would never be forgotten by any of them.

APRIL 13, 1996 - THE ACCIDENT I am Chris's Mother and I want to help others to learn from our experience and to hopefully give some hope to those who are in despair. The phone call that we received about the car accident was the Real Nightmare that every parent thinks about on a Saturday night when they are waiting up for their child to get home. There had been three of Chris' classmates who had died in car accidents in the months preceding his accident. It seemed as though the students at the high school were jinxed in some way. So when we received the phone call I immediately thought , "Oh no, its happened to us." "It can't be real." For so long I thought it was really just a bad dream and that I would be waking up and everything would be just as before. The steps of grieving have been very arduous for each of us to go through and we are all at different steps in the process of acceptance of this life changing experience. I sincerely believe that God uses the lemons in our life to make lemonade for each of us, if we will just open our eyes and see the graciousness of our Lord even in the midst of adversity!