JCC Now Hosting Aphasia Support Group

The Adler Aphasia Center of Maywood and West Orange recently partnered with the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC in Bridgewater, to offer a free aphasia support group for people with aphasia and their families.  

With so few aphasia support groups available in New Jersey and none offered in Somerset County, this program seeks to assist those who have been diagnosed with aphasia by helping them cope with the challenges of living with this communication disorder. Facilitated by Gail Rempell, one of the Center’s Speech-Language Pathologists, this support group will also help people with aphasia practice their communication skills, show them alternative communication strategies and offer them a social introduction to others with aphasia. Families and caregivers are encouraged to attend as well.

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by stroke or other brain injury. Almost 2,000,000 people have been diagnosed with aphasia in this country. The Adler Aphasia Center, a non-profit, post-rehabilitative therapeutic program that addresses the long-term needs of people with aphasia and their families, is the only center of its kind in the New York-New Jersey area. The programs and activities offered at the Adler Aphasia Center in both locations is facilitated by speech language pathologists and healthcare professionals. The Center’s goals are to enhance the communication skills of its members and provide opportunities for social and peer support, while building members’ self-esteem and self-confidence. The Center also offers training and educational programs in order to share its unique model of care with a national and international audience of health care professionals, consumers, educators, students, speech-language pathologists and others interested in improving the quality of life for those persons affected by aphasia. In addition, the Center is actively engaged in research efforts that examine the impact of its programs and offer innovative approaches to individual treatment.

The aphasia support group will be offered on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from October through December, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC, 775 Talamini Road in Bridgewater, NJ. The first scheduled group, to meet on Wednesday, October 9th, will be an introductory, educational session moderated by the Program Director of the Adler Aphasia Center at JCC MetroWest and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Wendy Greenspan. The support group will then meet on the following Wednesdays: 10/23, 11/13, 11/27 and 12/11. This program is funded by the Grotta Fund for Senior Care.

An RSVP is requested for the introductory support group session on October 9th. Contact Wendy Greenspan at 973.530.3981 or email wgreenspan@adleraphasiacenter.org. For directions to the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center, visit their website at www.ssbjcc.org.

For more information about the Adler Aphasia Center’s programs and services in Maywood or West Orange, NJ, visit their website at www.adleraphasiacenter.org. or call 201.368.8585.