
WRITING GROUPS FOR APHASIA
Acquired Dysgraphia
We use our writing skills in so many different ways on a daily basis: to-do lists, shopping lists, emails, text messages, birthday cards, social media – the list could go on and on! Acquired dysgraphia is a writing impairment that results from a traumatic brain injury or a stroke. It can have an extremely negative impact on a person’s ability to communicate with others. The impact is even more profound if the person's speech is impaired too, as is often the case with aphasia.
By using evidence-based writing techniques, speech therapy can help people with acquired dysgraphia improve their writing/spelling and communication abilities. This can help to increase the chances of a successful return to work, improve cognitive and linguistic processes, and enhance quality of life for people with writing impairments.
Writing Therapy Groups for Aphasia
At the Aptus Speech Clinic, we run Writing Groups for Aphasia in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and in Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Groups normally have 3 to 4 people. Our writing groups make speech therapy much more accessible and affordable for people with aphasia following stroke or brain injury.
Group sessions typically last 1 - 1.5 hours.
Baseline of writing skills of each group member
We carry out a full assessment of writing. This typically looks at spontaneous writing, writing names of pictures, writing words to dictation, writing picture descriptions and copying written statements. We re-examine after a block of group therapy to track progress.
Goal-setting
Every group member comes to writing group for a reason. We find out what they would like to achieve and we target their goals with relevant writing exercises. Some examples of group members' goals include:
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learning to write the names of family members
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writing birthday and wedding cards
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writing numbers
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sentence generation and correct word order
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email writing
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text message writing
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using assistive technology to make writing easier
Homework
We provide group members with 1-2 writing tasks per week so that they continue to practise their writing skills in between sessions. Feedback is always provided on homework.
Get in touch
If you or a loved one are interested in joining one of our writing groups, please get in touch by calling us, filling in the contact form below or by emailing info@aptusclinic.com.