More Awareness about Aphasia needed in New Zealand

More Awareness about Aphasia needed in New Zealand

New Zealand Aphasia Conference: 19 and 20 November 2015

AphasiaNZ Media Release Thursday 5 November 2015

Have you ever had the feeling that a word is on the tip of your tongue? Have you felt the frustration of knowing what you want to say but not being able to find the right words to say it? For tens of thousands of New Zealanders this is a feeling they have every time they try to speak.

Aphasia – pronounced ‘aye – faze – yuh’ - is a language disorder most commonly acquired after a stroke, that leaves the intellect fully intact while eroding the ability to talk, read, write, and understand what is being said.

More common than Parkinson’s disease, few people have heard of aphasia and even fewer have any knowledge about it.

Many of us are aware of the crippling effects a stroke or head injury can have on the physical abilities of a person. Few are aware of the damage to the language centre of the brain, sometimes leaving a person trapped inside their heads, unable to express thoughts, fears, feelings, or even the most basic of Every day on average 24 New Zealanders have a stroke. Approximately one third of those will suffer aphasia, meaning that every year approximately 3,000 people in New Zealand are diagnosed with stroke-acquired aphasia.

The chances of you knowing someone affected by aphasia are high – you just may not know what to call the problems they have with their language.

The sixth biennial AphasiaNZ Conference is being held on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 November 2015, at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Auckland. AphasiaNZ conferences are for people with and affected by aphasia, including carers and family members, as well as health professionals working with people with stroke, head injury, and brain tumour.

Emma Castle, AphasiaNZ’s Executive Officer, says that raising awareness about the effects of aphasia on individuals and families is critical to helping those with aphasia reintegrate into the community after a stroke or head injury.

Many people do not know about aphasia and AphasiaNZ and that there is help available.

‘Aphasia can be likened to a library after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. All of the books (information) is still there, but it is all mixed up, fallen off the shelf where it usually belongs, and you can’t find what you’re looking for.’

‘Roles and relationships within families are thrown into disarray by the difficulties that aphasia causes. For the person with aphasia the ability to work, manage finances, and do an ordinary task such as go to the post office can be affected. This puts pressure on spouses and family members to both care for the person with aphasia and provide for the family.’

Ms. Castle says that there is help available for those affected by aphasia from the Aphasia New Zealand (AphasiaNZ) Charitable Trust, which provides services, information, and resources to people affected by aphasia.

‘AphasiaNZ has been helping people with aphasia since 2007 and is working hard to increase public and health sector awareness and knowledge of aphasia.

The up-and-coming conference is a way for people with aphasia to be better understood and supported, and empowered to life an ordinary life with a communication disability’.

More information about ways to help people affected by aphasia, and register for the conference can be found at www.aphasia.org.nz or by calling 0508 274

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