NEW Adult Communication Group for Parkinson’s & Stroke Recovery

An new adult communication group at Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center (CHSC) offers help to adults with acquired communication disorders resulting from stroke, head injury and other neurological causes, such as Parkinson’s Disease. Often, after completing traditional individual or group therapy, stroke survivors find themselves with few opportunities to communicate with others.

The Northeast Ohio Adults Communicating Together (NEO-ACT) program at Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center is similar to most stroke support groups in that it provides an opportunity to socialize and offers a support system for the participants. However, the group is unique in that the focus is on verbal communication – understanding what is being said and working to communicate with others in the group. Regular practice with these skills can help with long-term recovery in people with aphasia (the inability to recall or speak words – a common result of stroke.) For convenience, the NEO-ACT group, facilitated by a certified speech-language pathologist, meets weekly at both the CHSC University Circle and Westlake locations. There is no charge for the program, but donations are welcome.

Says the daughter of a participant, “The NEO-ACT group has made such a big difference in my mother’s life – not only does it aid in speech improvement, but the social aspect has been just as important.”

For more information, call Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center at 216-231-8787 or visit www.chsc.org/neo-act.