Say Aphasia is once again a charity partner for the Brighton Half Marathon, which takes place on 25 February 2024.
If you're thinking of tackling this mostly flat course with beautiful views, they'd love you to join their friendly team in raising awareness of aphasia and funds for their charity. To grab one of their 50 free places, visit www.sayaphasia.org/bhm2024
Say Aphasia is a Brighton-based charity currently offering drop-in groups across England and Wales and was set up over seven years ago.
It's the only aphasia charity launched and operated by people with aphasia for people with aphasia.
Colin Lyall, founder of Say Aphasia and all of the peer leaders for their drop-in groups are living with aphasia. This really challenged their thinking as an organisation because they had to consider how to adapt all their processes, and all forms of communication used by their peer leaders, and it is constantly evolving.
Every single form of communication which those of us who do not have aphasia do on autopilot, has to be altered to suit the needs of each peer leader individually. For example, feeding back about their group in a meeting. Each peer leader helps people understand the ‘communication ramps’ required to be put in place to support their participation.
They believed from the beginning that it was vital to have peer leaders who have aphasia because they are the people with the lived experience and are in the best position to support their group members learning to live with aphasia, offering encouragement and hope.
They truly understand the aphasia journey. For the peer leaders themselves, it's often their first work role since acquiring aphasia and helps them acquire new skills and develop confidence; potentially opening up opportunities in other areas of their lives.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia occurs as a result of an injury to the brain, like a stroke. It affects access to language, resulting in difficulties following conversations, speaking, reading and writing.
People's language can be affected to different degrees so not everyone's aphasia looks the same. For everyone who has aphasia however, it's lifelong and means the person living with aphasia, their friends and family will need to adjust to a new way of communicating.
Aphasia frequently results in loss of employment and a reduced social network, leading to isolation for the person living with aphasia. Aphasia isn't an uncommon condition, affecting over 350,000 people in the UK, however the majority of the population hasn't even heard of it.
What does Say Aphasia do?
Their 15 drop-in groups provide a safe, relaxed space for people living with aphasia to meet other people who also have aphasia and to try out different ways of communicating with people who understand.
The charity and the groups offer a sense of community for people living with aphasia. Showing that there is hope, while developing people's confidence, reducing isolation and improving well-being.
Given how few people know what aphasia is or how to adapt their communication when talking to someone who has aphasia, another important aspect of the charity’s work is to raise public awareness and understanding. The more people who understand aphasia, will make it easier for those living with it to do the everyday things we take for granted, such as ordering a coffee or buying a bus ticket.
If you would like to run the Brighton Half Marathon for free, and raise money for Say Aphasia, please contact sarah@sayaphasia.org or visit www.sayaphasia.org
