Her goal is to increase knowledge about aphasia among first responders, including effects, common misconceptions, and strategies for communicating effectively with people who have the language disorder.
In mid August, WMU first responders experienced the first training sessions with materials developed by the National Aphasia Association. The trainings were well-received, serving as a forum for discussion of aphasia and related issues and an important step toward increasing aphasia awareness in the WMU and Kalamazoo communities. Plans for other training sessions are in process.
In 2006, Eagly survived a stroke just one week after her son, Aidan, was born. The stroke left her with many challenges, including aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that impairs a person's ability to form and process language, but does not affect intelligence. Over time, Eagly continued to overcome these challenges, using her experience, intellect, and determination to benefit herself—and now others.
In 2007, she joined the ACE Program at the WMU Charles Van Riper Language, Speech, and Hearing Clinic. “My insurance ran out,” Eagly said. “It was really helpful to be able to go to the speech and OT clinics at Western.” With ACE she has continued to participate in individual therapy and interest-based therapy groups that serve as a context for communication interaction.
It was out of one such interest group that Eagly’s 2012 book Momma Just Shake It! emerged. The title refers to Aidan’s plea that his mother make her arm, paralyzed by the stroke, work better by shaking it to turn it on. What began as therapy to improve written language became an illustrated book that offers insight into the impact of stroke and aphasia, that young children and families can understand.
For more information on ACE and the training, contact Sandra Glista, M.S., ACE program clinical supervisor and faculty member in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, at (269) 387-8045 or sandra.glista@wmich.edu.
Information about aphasia can be found online at the National Aphasia Association Web site: www.aphasia.org.
Photo (left to right): ACE participants Brian Gay, Raoul Yochim, Perry Elliott, Connie Sager and Rachel Eagly; ACE Clinical Supervisor Marie Koss-Ryan; speech language pathology graduate student JoHanna Rose; and WMU Public Safety Captain Carol Dedow.