You know that feeling when you are trying to come up with a word, and its just on the tip of your tongue? Well, imagine waking up one day and having that feeling all the time. Speaking, reading, typing, anything involving language becomes impossible or terribly difficult. At the same time, you are the same person, with the same intellect. The language processing center of your brain has gone caput.
That's what it is like to have a condition known as APHASIA. Over 2 million people in the US have it. It's usually caused by a stroke or brain injury.
So, the next time you encounter someone who is having a hard time finding a word. Be patient with them. Ask them a simple yes or no question. There's a good chance they have aphasia and are having a hard time finding the word.
Like many people who know about aphasia, someone I love has it. My mother had a major stroke over 15 years ago that left her pretty serious aphasia. She's an artist, so can still express herself by painting. But her working vocabulary is extremely limited and, while she maintains an amazing and inspirational attitude, communication can be very challenging.
As a culture, we love words and place a high value on a person's ability to use them. But there are so many meaningful ways that we communicate with each other outside of language. Personally, I'm a big fan of the hug.
June is "aphasia awareness month" from the National Aphasia Association (an organization that I volunteer for). So its double exciting that I won this opportunity to share a message of aphasia awareness.
If you are so inclined, you can forward this message on your nets "#2million have aphasia and lost all or some ability to use words. Help @NatAphasiaAssoc spread #aphasiaawareness"" At the end of the month, we are close to our goal of reaching two million people, and I confident that this email just put us over the top!
Thank you Listerve!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read this message.
Chad Ruble
Brooklyn
[email protected]