During our Easter break we began our 30th Anniversary Celebrations with a fantastic musical event led by internationally recognised Choral Director and Vocal Coach Mark De-Lisser . Mark led a thrilling two-hour choral workshop for Members and Relatives, inspiring people with aphasia to sing when the spoken word is difficult.
Members said “that was really excellent, it was such a lovely experience”. Mark said he felt inspired to work with People with Aphasia and has promised to return. He feels singing is important for everyone ”.
Aphasia Conference 14th & 15th April 2024
In April, 11 Dyscover members travelled to Warwick University for a 2-day conference designed for and by people with aphasia. The theme was Wellbeing and Aphasia.
Dyscover’s own Gill Jackson and a colleague, Gill Pearl, led and organised the conference, but people with aphasia played central roles in the design and running of every aspect of the conference.
Rosemary introduced the idea of wellbeing to the 98 conference participants using a ‘stress bucket’ to start the discussion. Dyscover Ambassadors, Paul, Maggie, Suzie and Sarah then described the activities in their week that lift their mood – which include Zumba, swimming, photography and volunteering. Connecting with friends at Dyscover was also a highlight for all of them. Other conference sessions looked at relationships, research, music and art. Members manned the Dyscover stand in the Exhibition room (displaying new Dyscover posters), and Rosemary led a session which focussed on relatives’ wellbeing.
Between presentations, everyone enjoyed getting to know each other, and tucking into delicious food produced by the conference centre. Many people had not stayed away from home alone since their stroke.
The conference ended with discussion about what we had learnt, and how we might make changes in our lives to boost our wellbeing. Everyone was enthusiastic about keeping in touch and maybe running another conference!
Feedback was hugely positive!
We are very grateful to The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia who supported the conference with a major grant.
Easter Activities 2024
Whilst our regular conversation groups have taken a break, we have offered a number of Challenge Activities to our Members over the Easter holidays.
A group of online and face-to-face members met up for a coffee and pastry at the Teddington Park Hotel and enjoyed a relaxed social time practicing communication with the support of two of our regular volunteers Barry and Dee.
We also offer a seated Pilates class with our regular online coach Natalie, and we visited Bushy Park for the ever-popular Companion Cycling.
Gardeners hard at work
It was lovely to see the sun shining on the courtyard garden which is looking so lovely and is really coming to life. This is thanks to the expertise and leadership of our brilliant volunteer gardener Sue Edwards who has been leading the project for many years. Sue is now supported by a QEF volunteer, Adam and they make a great team. We are always keen to hear from anyone who is interested in volunteering in the garden. You don’t need lots of experience just enthusiasm and a willingness to get stuck in, as Sue is happy to provide guidance and support. If you think this might be of interest, please do get in touch with our Volunteer Coordinator Liz lgrace@dyscover.org.uk
Escape room – Wednesday pm group
A great time was had by all with a very different theme for this group. Created, organised and run by our super volunteer Steve (who dressed for the occasion in a car mechanic boiler suit and streaks of oil across his face!), the group was assigned the task to escape from the mechanic’s garage and drive away. But first the members (staff and volunteers) had to solve various clues! This was challenging but a lot of fun; it involved identifying numbers in song titles, which set off spontaneous singing to produce the answers, finding clues to unlock combination padlocks, reading clues backwards with a mirror, popping a balloon and many other tasks. There was lots of laughter from all involved! A big thank you for your creativity Steve and for all your hard work setting up and giving your time and enthusiasm!
Research
Six of our Wednesday A.M members are involved with an exciting City & Kings University research project, looking at ways to improve accessibility to digital content ( eg, tv, videos, podcasts, social media) to support the needs of people with aphasia. They are exploring and developing the use of bespoke, innovative features to create a ‘toolkit’ which is tailored to an individual’s needs, eg, limiting background noise so the actor’s voice is clearer. We look forward to continuing to support this project.
