Aphasia

I've been writing daily blogs for over a week, a blog that is intended to be a blog about my journey to a PhD. Writing practice for my thesis. I am yet to talk about what I am researching. So here is part one. Some background information to assist in understanding my topic.

Whenever someone asks me about my topic I get nervous and take a deep breath and try to talk through it quickly, how to I explain Aphasia, stroke, thrombolysis and clot retrieval in an interesting way? I know that I don't have long before the person checks out of the conversation. I've failed at it before, I write with a smile on my face. I was at my Aunty's 60th and one of my cousins asked me about it and within 30 seconds of my spiel she interrupted and said "I've got no idea what you're talking about, but well done"... so something to that effect. I've also had people get excited and they've asked me to send them my papers once they are published. But those people are usually medical professionals. I'm yet to sell my research to a normal person. 

Since graduating with my degree in speech pathology in 2008 I've worked with adults and since 2012 I've worked in a rehab unit and my favourite part of the caseload is language disorders, or aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by injury to the brain, like a stroke or traumatic brain injury (bump to the head). It's fascinating. It's painful to watch. And helping someone with aphasia improve their communication is just about the best feeling in the world. I've met so many amazing patients. Who have left their mark on me. I've met a patient who initially only spoke in numbers, " five, seven, two, one...". I've had a patient with severe expressive aphasia (unable to speak) tell me that she is about to become a grandmother, using gestures and persistence. 

I think a bit part of why I enjoy working with patients with aphasia is because it's so different in every person, aphasia is a bit of a puzzle. We have models of how we think language works and we try to figure out which part of that system is working and which parts need fixing. And then we work at finding the right therapy for that patient. The therapy that breaks through to the access to the words they are trying to say, or understand, or read, or write. 

The reason why I wanted to do my PhD in aphasia is because the patients make the most impact on me, and I wanted to know more about what my patients are going through and how I can help.