Aphasia Alliance Group Picture

Aphasia Alliance Group Picture

Candace Vickers of the Chapman College of Educational Studies and Communication Sciences and Disorders program was recently invited to the first annual meeting of the Aphasia Alliance held at the Adler Aphasia Center in Maywood, New Jersey. Aphasia is an acquired loss of speech and language skills caused by stroke or other brain injury and affects at least one million Americans annually. The event was organized by internationally known aphasiologist Dr. Audrey Holland, the research director of Adler Aphasia Center. Twenty-two aphasia specialists from across the U.S., Canada and Europe, met for two days to pool resources, discuss a research agenda for tracking outcomes, and promote sustainability of community based programs for persons with aphasia in the context of reduced traditional health-care resources  and rehabilitation after stroke or other brain injury. Vickers’ participation in the Aphasia Alliance will allow Chapman CSD students enhanced educational opportunities in the areas of the “life participation approach to aphasia” and the chance to participate in current research tracking outcomes for persons with aphasia through a planned multi-location study using newly published assessment tools.

Dr. Holland, who has published numerous articles and books regarding aphasia, will visit Chapman in early June to speak to CSD graduate students about aphasia as well as the role of the Speech Language Pathologist in counseling persons with communication disorders across the life span.