One May evening, Simon was walking with his wife when, all of a sudden, he felt an intense headache coming on. A few days later, he woke up in the hospital, unable to express himself or to understand what others were saying. Simon, a 52-year-old husband and a father of two teenagers, was now aphasic.

There are a 4,000 new cases of aphasia every year in Quebec. Aphasia is the consequence of brain damage caused by a tumor, traumatic brain injury, or, most commonly, a cerebrovascular accident (stroke). Aphasia means a difficulties either in understanding others, in and/or reading, in and/or expressing oneself trhough speech or wirting. There are different type of aphasia. These language problems have a serious impact on communication, on an individual's personal and professional life, as well as on his/her overall functioning in society. In a lot many cases, the process of rehabilitation is long and language recovery is often incomplete.

Reahabilitation within the healhcare system for individuals with aphasia can last anywhere from a couple of months to a few years. The Speech-Language Pathologist takes part in that process through evaluation and intervention services. During the initial period of hospitalization, the Speech-Language Pathologist emphasize basic recovery. Depending on the type of aphasia, she may work on comprehension of the meaning of words and phrases used by the caregivers. Some types of aphasia affect the comprehension of language, causing the individual to feel as though he/she is listening to a foreign language. On an aphasia which affects primary expressive language, the Speech-Language Pathologist assisting in developing a more elaborate system of expressive communication. For example, she helps the patient in learning to name objects and significant others, and in producing familiar expressions or short requests in order to staisfy the her basic needs.

In the second phase of treatment, the patient is referred to a rehabilitation center. During this stage, the speech-language pathologist tries to address more of the patient's specific problems as a function of his needs (i.e. the level of language used, the role of reading and writing in his/her everyday life, etc.). The results obtained vary depending on the type and the severity of the initial damage.

After a 3 to 6 months period of active rehabilitation, the patient enters the third stage of treatment, which is centered around the psycho-social aspects of aphasia. The person suffer with apahsia will now follow individual treatment and participate in group activites which permit her to optimise her potential and help her in adapting to her new social identity.

Throughout this process, the Speech-Language Pathologist also plays an important role wiht patient's family and with other members of the multidisciplinary team (doctors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, etc.). She educates them about the nature and severity of the language problem as well as about attitudes and to provides information and suggestions about how the can adopt a positive ans stimulating attitude.

Simon's life and the life of his family has changed tremendeously since the famous May evening. However, thanks to the intervention of the speech-language pathologist and the multidisciplinary team, he now has a new opportunity to effectively communicate with others, which alows him to have a better quality of life.