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New Look Aphasia Software Finder Aphasia Software Finder

The Aphasia Software Finder has had a significant redesign with the aim of making the website more aphasia friendly and thereby easier to navigate for everyone.

To learn more about what you can find and what is new on the Aphasia Software Finder, please watch this short video:

 


 

The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia UK Stroke Forum 2023 Prizes

The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Best Aphasia Abstract Award – 
this was awarded to Dr Julie Hickin, Gill Pearl and colleagues: Creatively meeting speech and language therapy (SLT) workforce challenges, and meeting the needs of people affected by aphasia.  This submission represents some substantial collaborative working between different sectors in order to provide better care and rehabilitation for people with aphasia.

The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Best Aphasia Poster Award – 
this was awarded to Zainab Ali and colleagues: What factors impact on timely hospital discharge planning for culturally and linguistically diverse patients with acquired communication difficulties from stroke units?  This submission focuses much needed attention on stroke survivors with acquired communication difficulties from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It synthesizes existing research in a systematic manner and provides a foundation for moving forward now to make changes in clinical practice.


CATs announce multi-disciplinary joint Chairs

The Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists (CATs) has announced  the joint-appointment of Professors Madeline Cruice [GB] and Lucy Dipper [GB] (both from City, University of London) to the role of CATs Chair. They will formally take up their shared role from February 2024 which also marks the transition to a new CATs funding award from the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia which runs until January 2026.

Both highly experienced aphasia researchers, Prof Dipper and Cruice bring distinct and complementary perspectives to this leadership role coming from linguistic and therapeutic academic backgrounds respectively. Following an open application process, Lucy and Madeline impressed the international multidisciplinary interview panel with their comprehensive and ambitious plans for the Collaboration’s future. They also bring a long history of successful collaborative aphasia research as far back as 2010 on the first LUNA pilot project which later progressed to a nationally-funded Stroke Association grant in 2017.

Their CATs vision is of an inclusive and transformative international collaboration of stakeholders in aphasia research, which is committed equally to developing, delivering, evaluating and implementing the highest quality aphasia research for maximum benefit to people with aphasia, whilst developing the capacity of all stakeholders involved in research to participate in and lead aphasia research effectively. Building on the CATs activities and achievements to date, they believe that CATs can become a central point of reference for multidisciplinary aphasia research stakeholders globally for providing high-quality information (e.g., guidelines, checklists, toolkits etc.) to assist with research; as a unifying voice to raise awareness of the needs for involvement people with aphasia in research; and for providing training opportunities that advance the careers of all members.

Lucy: It is a real honour to be taking on this role alongside Madeline.  CATs is such an important international collaboration, supporting us all to conduct the highest quality research aimed at improving the lives of people affected by aphasia; and I look forward to working with the Executive Committee and CATs members to build on the fantastic foundation of our first 10 years.

Madeline: I’m thrilled and honoured to have this opportunity to chair the collaboration with Lucy, and with the support of the marvellous Executive Committee. CATs has had a significant role in internationally transforming the aphasia research landscape in the last decade and has been a driving force in connecting people around the world. As a ten-year collaboration, we are in an incredible place in 2023, and I’m excited about our prospects for the next decade, creating a world of better futures for people affected by aphasia.



The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia (TTA) is delighted that Professor Jane Marshall has joined the board of trustees.  Jane qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1987. She worked in the aphasia unit of an acute NHS hospital before joining City, University of London as a researcher and lecturer.  Jane’s research has explored numerous aspects of aphasia, including disorders of sentence processing, jargon aphasia, aphasia in bilingual language users and in Deaf users of sign language.  Much of her research has focused on the clinical needs of people with aphasia and their remediation.  Her most recent projects, two of which were supported by the TTA , explored innovative uses of technology in aphasia therapy.  Jane was honoured to receive The Robin Tavistock Award in 2007; and in 2018 she received an OBE for her contribution to higher education and research.  Now retired, Jane retains an emeritus appointment at City, and has more time for her interests in the arts (viewing not doing), cryptic crosswords, highly amateurish birdwatching and coping with the emotional trauma of supporting Crystal Palace Football Club.



Our hearts go out to Bruce Willis and to his family and friends.  This is devastating news for all who know and love him.

Aphasia is often described as the invisible condition – because of its nature it is silent and often those who suffer with it, retreat.

We would like to thank Bruce and his family for their remarkable courage going public with this information.  By sharing his diagnosis, Bruce Willis has changed and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with aphasia, because he has chosen to share his story and thereby increased awareness of aphasia world wide.

Aphasia is one of the conditions that most affects quality of life – it affects your ability to communicate, but not your intellect.   When out in public, the condition is often greatly misunderstood because it is so little known, even though it is more common than Parkinson’s Disease.

For more information and more organisations that focus on aphasia, please visit:

https://aphasiatavistocktrust.org/what-is-aphasia/

https://aphasiaalliance.org/

The Trustees of The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia