“I learnt so much about Aphasia after Em had her stroke. It helped us to learn to communicate in different ways.
When we weren’t together we would voice note each other leaving voice messages or video calls. We would also send picture messages of what we’d been up to that day. This would be instead of writing text messages as Em would find it difficult to read and write. I think this was really nice as a different way of communicating but also knowing that your friends are still thinking of you and still care and want to share things with you.
When we would meet in person, I think it was really important to allow Em the time to communicate. I think it can be easy for people to ‘jump in’ and guess what it is that people are wanting to say, but when someone has aphasia I think it is really important to be patient, allow time for communication & have an understanding and a quiet space. I remember Em saying this helped her to feel confident to communicate. We would also meet in smaller groups or just the two of us as this seemed to help to have less noises around making communication easier.
Having seen Em from the beginning of her journey to where she is now it has been amazing to watch her confidence with her communication grow. Em having Aphasia did not affect anything for our friendship as we just found a different way to communicate, we still speak every single day just like before! I am super proud of how far she has come! And super proud to see her confidence with Aphasia get stronger and stronger!”