Aphasia is a language disorder that affects the way a person communicates. Individuals with aphasia have trouble forming and processing language because access to the parts of the brain necessary for expressing ideas and needs has been damaged.
In 2007, Eagly began work with the Aphasia Communication Enhancement group (ACE) in the Charles Van Riper Language, Speech, and Hearing Clinic at the WMU Unified Clinics—after her health insurance ran out. While working with ACE, she participated in individual therapy and interest-based therapy groups to improve communication interaction.
In one of her interest sessions, Eagly began to write as a form of therapy to improve her written language skills, but it turned into much more—a book.
Momma, Just Shake It!, is a children’s book about parents who have had a stroke. The title is a reference to Aiden’s idea that his mother only needed to shake her paralyzed arm to ‘turn it on’.
Eagly is looking forward to her future. She has plans to write another aphasia-related book for adults, marry a man she met in ACE, and move into a house she helped build via Habitat for Humanity. Eagly would like to go back to work soon, but for now she volunteers at the WMU Center for Disability Services as a support coordinator.
To learn more, please follow the link below:
WMICH.EDU — UNIFIED CLINICS: VAN RIPER LANGUAGE SPEECH AND HEARING CLINIC