Providing support for people with aphasia

After seeing the lack of social support for people with speech and language difficulties following brain damage, speech and language therapist Evelyn Khoo decided to do something about it.

In 2018, she founded a volunteer-run, not-for-profit group which today helps about 160 people with aphasia, and their caregivers.

Aphasia SG's programmes include "chit chat" coffee sessions three times a month for members to practise communication, and singing in choir sessions conducted by music therapists twice a month. These have been held virtually since the pandemic began.

Aphasia is a disorder that occurs after the parts of the brain that control language are damaged, such as after a stroke or head trauma. It impairs a person's ability to speak, read and write, although cognition is not affected.

This can affect a person's everyday interactions, such as ordering food, as well as their employability, said Ms Khoo, 45.

Someone with aphasia may feel is if he were teleported to a foreign country where he does not understand the language being spoken or written. "You have all your thoughts in your head, but the language part is impaired," she said.

International studies show that about a third of stroke patients would have aphasia. Based on this, Ms Khoo estimates about 3,000 adults in Singapore would be diagnosed with aphasia every year.

As an advocate, she hopes for greater awareness about aphasia, which is often an "invisible" condition as people with the condition do not appear to be physically unwell.

Aphasia SG has found that usually only about 15 per cent of people would have heard of the condition. Ms Khoo said: "This tells us that so much more needs to be done. When people understand there is such a condition called aphasia, and they meet someone who communicates differently, they can be more patient, kinder, and less judgmental."