Neurological Foundation of New Zealand

I Am Still Me - Living Successfully With Aphasia"

AphasiaNZ  Inc. Conference 16th - 18th November 2011 - Rotorua

This conference will be the third held by AphasiaNZ since the incorporation of the Association.  Conferences are held every two years, on alternate years to those held by the Australian Aphasia Association.  Each conference seeks to build on the initiatives and successes of the previous one.  ‘Best thing’ comments from the feedback on our conference in 2009 include:

• interesting and stimulating – fantastic
• looking forward to the next one
• seeing the personal growth / confidence in my family member with Aphasia
• becoming more aware and informed
• meeting others with the same condition
• feedback on what people think about their therapy - you don’t always get that
• it has re-fired me to want to educate the public, but where do I start?
• watching my family member (who has Aphasia) interacting with others
• meeting so many people with Aphasia
• talking to people
• knowing you are not alone

100% of those who attended stated they would attend another conference.

Many people with Aphasia have never had the opportunity to meet others with the condition.  Likewise their family members have often been coping with the devastating changes that Aphasia brings in isolation, with no-one to share their experience with.  The conference has proved to be an excellent way to provide people affected by Aphasia with support, information and understanding.  These conferences have also been utilised by people with Aphasia to challenge themselves by speaking, to empower themselves to help others and to seek out and conquer new challenges.  New initiatives in various regions of the country have also developed as a result of people attending the conferences.

Two keynote speakers planned for this conference – one an Australian Speech Language Therapist who carries out research in Aphasia, and the other a person with Aphasia who has been the recipient of a number of awards in the UK for her services for people with Aphasia.  Also planned are a number of workshops to allow people to explore new hobbies and ways of expressing themselves through music and singing, and through art.   A third workshop will allow people to trial the Aphasia software that is now available around the world, and to see if this might assist in further recovery of their language.  There will also be presentations by people with Aphasia, Speech Language Therapists, and others involved in the field.  A symposium for health professionals will bring together those involved in research and practicing clinicians to explore new ways of working and promote best practice.

Most of those who attend are now living on disability support as a result of their Aphasia.  AphasiaNZ seeks to keep costs for attendance to a minimum, in order that people from all walks of life and backgrounds can afford to attend.  Your assistance will help us be inclusive and facilitate the attendance of people with Aphasia.

Visit www.aphasia.org.nz to download the registration form.