Got ____? Aphasia: At a loss for words
Aphasia advocacy
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PrintA bill has been introduced into the New Jersey legislature (S1931 and A2811) to establish a New Jersey Aphasia Study Commission in the Department of Health and Senior Services. Sponsors of the bill include state Sens. Loretta Weinberg and Diane Allen and Assembly members Valerie Huttle, Gordon Johnson, Connie Wagner and Joan Voss. The Senate version of the bill (S1931) states that the purpose of the commission is to: “establish a mechanism in order to ascertain the prevalence of aphasia in New Jersey, and the unmet needs of persons with aphasia and those of their families,” to “study model aphasia support programs,” and to “provide recommendations for additional support programs and resources…”
Political advocacy can be complicated and challenging under the best of circumstances. For individuals with aphasia, it can be especially daunting. But the Adler Aphasia Center has mobilized its members’ Advocacy Group, which provides members with opportunities to develop and improve their communication skills, to work on publicity and support of the bill. Over the past few weeks the group, led by Jessica Welsh and volunteer Robin Straus, prepared a form letter that supporters of the bill can send to their state representatives indicating their support.
The Advocacy Group includes Jeffrey Turitz, 53, who on Aug. 14, 2009 was in a motorcycle accident and suffered traumatic brain injury. Before his accident Turitz worked at the Defining Moment Foundation of Englewood, which provides counseling for alcohol and substance abuse. He is a licensed alcohol counselor and was a public speaker. “It’s been a tough year,” said Turitz, who grew up in Englewood. “I had to learn how to walk, talk, and dress myself. I am recovering. I’m a lucky man.”
Although he still struggles to express himself and faces challenges in his recovery from the accident, Turitz offered to speak at the center’s “Meet and Greet” to let members know about the legislation and how they could help it get passed. He rehearsed his plea saying, “I’m with the advocacy group. We are trying to help get people to sign a letter [in support of the bill].”
Vernon Wilson, 51, of Paterson, offered to back him up at the meeting by adding “I’m in favor of the bill. The bill helps a lot of people. You never know. There are a lot of people who you don’t think have [aphasia], but they do have it.”
Turitz thanked Wilson. “That’s where my friends come in with my aphasia. They know what I want to say,” he said. “If I have to speak in front of people I get nervous. You know what I want to say.”
Avi Golden, 36, of Queens, has a Facebook page that he uses to connect with family and friends. He suggested that they use e-mail and the Internet to distribute the advocacy letter.
Other center members working on advocacy for the bill include Bob Mayer, 51, of Rivervale, George Freeman, 61, of Hackensack, and Ken Albrecht, 52, a former town councilman in Hackensack.
The text of the Advocacy Group’s letter of support can be found at http://www.adleraphasiacenter.org. Click on “Support Aphasia Legislation in NJ.”
More on: Got ____? Aphasia: At a loss for words
Help for aphasia caregivers
Mary Slade, a panelist at an Adler Aphasia Center information session who is recovering from aphasia, observed, “It takes a family time to accept that a person had a stroke and has aphasia. When you first get sick there is often anger, confusion, and frustration.”
Elaine Adler became a caregiver when her husband Mike had a stroke. “When the breadwinner becomes aphasic, what happens to the family?” Adler asked. “The spouse has to take care of the aphasic and the family…. I realized how important it is to help the caregiver.”
Adler Aphasia Center in Jerusalem
According to the Hadassah College Website, the Adler Aphasia Center at Hadassah College in Jerusalem is the “first international branch of the Adler Aphasia Center in New Jersey.”
“My friend Miriam Josephs, who was very active in Hadassah, raised $100,000 for scholarships for Hadassah College, where they teach speech pathology,” said Elaine Adler. “That led to starting the center there.”
 | Avi Golden’s T-shirt parodies the “Got milk?” campaign. |
It’s hard to daven properly because I have to learn again,” said Avi Golden, who is recovering from a stroke that left him with aphasia — difficulty in communicating — as well as difficulties in using his right arm. Golden, who is an Orthodox Jew, has made great strides in his recovery over the last three years, with the help of the Adler Aphasia Center in Maywood, but he has a hard time with prayer, as the stroke left him unable to read Hebrew. On Shabbat he goes to synagogue, but he has not yet felt ready to be called up to the Torah for an aliyah. “I look and I pray,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s good also.” In September he is planning to start taking classes at Lehman College in the Bronx, where he will be working with the speech clinic “to learn Hebrew again.”
