A blog story about aphasia? Written by a dog? Now HOW is THIS going to work?
It all started when my human was scrolling
though Facebook yesterday. She came
across the photo of a cute Labrador Retriever – a Service Dog owned by a woman
named Gabby Giffords. For people who are
not from the United States, the name may not be familiar. Gabby was a politician – a Senator from the
state of Arizona. In 2011, at the age of 41, Gabby was the victim of an
assassination attempt. She suffered a
gunshot wound to her head.
Gabby survived her injury and continues to
amaze people with her recovery. Her
Service Dog, Nelson helps her with some tasks because she has difficulty using
her right arm and leg as a result of her injury. I’m not so sure I would have been cut out for
Service Dog work. It takes special dogs
to do that job – and while I AM special, as we know, I’m not always
obedient. But I digress. Gabby doesn’t let her physical challenges
hold her back – she walks well and on the third anniversary of the shooting –
she went skydiving! Nelson did not jump
with her. He draws the line where he can
help.
One of Gabby’s biggest challenges since her
injury is that she has aphasia. I don’t
know how many of my readers know that word – but since it is Aphasia Awareness
month (and it just so happens that my human knows a little bit about aphasia) I
thought I could share some info about it.
Aphasia is a problem communicating as a
result of some type of brain injury – like a stroke or head trauma. It’s kind of like going to a country where
you don’t know the language – you may not be able to speak the words, you may
not understand what others are saying, and you may not be able to read or write
– because you just don’t have the words.
BUT – your intelligence has not been affected. IMAGINE how frustrating that would be!
Dogs can have strokes – and some people
relate that they bark less after that happens. I’m not sure that they have aphasia – but
maybe they do. I saw a cartoon of a dog and the caption said "aphasia" – and in the word bubble over his head, he was saying
“meow.” That’s what it’s like for people
with aphasia – the words do not always come out right.
People with aphasia can improve their
communication skills– with therapy and hard work. It’s a challenging and long journey and they
need support from others along the way – to help them find the words.
Communication is KEY in our lives – we dogs communicate in many ways. From our tail wags when we are happy, to our
barking at bunnies, to our avoiding eye contact
when we are being submissive – we use communication a LOT. In fact all animals communicate – so we see
how important it is. It is our
connection with the world. People with
aphasia need our help to interact, communicate and connect with others.
So that’s my message for today. And that’s how a dog can tell a story about
aphasia. If you knew about aphasia
before, I hope I didn't bore you! If you didn't know about it, I hope
you’ve learned something new. And you
got the info from a dog. You got it from Viktor. Viktor the PON.
© Linda Wozniak
Thank you for sharing such wonderful information!In my opinion, Keep a healthy life by consuming healthy food and doing exercise regularly is the best healthy formula.
ReplyDelete