Chippewa Valley Aphasia Group

Who Moved My Cheese?   is a story about change that takes place in a maze where four amusing characters look for “cheese” cheese is a symbol for what we want to have in life.     Spencer Johnson, MD is an internationally bestselling author whose books help millions of people discover simple truths they can use to enjoy healthier lives with more success and less stress.  

Five members of the aphasia group participated in book club.  Each member had a copy of the book and an audio tape or DVD if they wanted.   Most members agreed that the book + audio tape was most helpful.   Thanks to Rob for helping retrieve additional books.   I remember the look on everyone’s face when Julie Tangwell came in the room.  People were excited to see her.   She attends the aphasia camp with some of the members. 

The group participated in unison reading for a portion of each group.   Each member was responsible for reading and completing assignments each week.   The first week members participated in sharing their vision of “cheese” with pictures and symbols.  Mary imagined a “Cheese Store” with clerks and signs with piles of cheese.   Everyone appreciated her images.   We shared our dreams and ideas about special gifts we have for each other.   The third week we talked about fears and Haw’s message, “what would you do if you were not afraid?”    Bob shared his thoughts on public speaking and Mary offered praises for his talking to groups.   Mary voiced that she enjoys swimming but is now too tired to swim.   Group members listened and gave her positive comments for her participation in group.  Julie communicated that she was a ski instructor before her stroke and that she had a fear of skiing.   She shared that she had enrolled in a ski lesson.    Mary, Mary , Rob and Bob all offered praise.   she was beaming!

Book group is more than reading a book together its about feeling comfortable enough with people to share your dreams, fears and opinions.

Submitted by

Mary Beth Clark

Aphasia Group Volunteer

Resources in the Chippewa Valley for living with aphasia

So you or your loved one have just returned home from the hospital… You’ve learned a little about aphasia and what that might mean for both of you, but you really aren’t sure what to expect. You’re not alone. For most families who are faced with aphasia it is the first time they’ve heard the term. There are more uncertainties than answers, right? The Chippewa Valley Aphasia Group has resources to help you learn more about aphasia, where to get help, who to ask, and address life with aphasia. Members of the group were once in your position and can relate to your experience. They are willing to share their successes and struggles but more importantly help you to learn that there is life with aphasia. Our staff includes speech pathologists with expertise in helping individuals with aphasia and their families to improve their communication through participation in meaningful activities. Social connections and life participation is at the heart of living successfully with aphasia. Please consider attending our group. Contact Jerry Hoepner @hoepner.aphasiagroup.org…if you have any questions.

Jerry Hoepner, PhD

Chippewa Valley Aphasia Group Staff

The Chippewa Valley Aphasia Group offered a Tech Club during the month of May.

Using a computer isn’t easy for people with aphasia. Operation of the computer and navigation of the internet present many challenges. What is worse, according to our club members, is that the internet is overwhelming. When faced with busy websites, pop-up ads, mystery links and multiple search choices, aphasia group members say they often quit trying to use the internet.

Tech Club members got together to enjoy some time exploring new technology.

How can computers and the internet be enjoyable? Well first of all, each Tech Club member works with a Tech coach. It may sound strange, but conversation is the most important activity of Tech Club. Tech coaches are there to listen, ask questions, demonstrate what they know about technology and participate in internet topic exploration. Tech Club has only three ground rules for these working teams: Go Slow. Be Flexible. Have conversations together. Club leaders select a topic for exploration. Team members work to learn about the topic and make their own choices about what is important to them about that topic. Secondly, this month Tech Club used the iPad for our project work. Imagine using a computer that doesn’t need a mouse! Imagine typing right on the screen! Imagine drawing on the screen with your finger! Imagine making pictures bigger with just a movement of your fingers!

Now, if you can believe it, Tech Club coaches did not hold an hour long class on “how to make the iPad work”. Tech Club teams (coaches and members) learned about operation and navigation of the device as they worked on their projects. Tech Club teams “played” with the device and together figured out how to use the iPad to get to the topic at hand. They had conversations about how the iPad worked and what the best steps were to get to what they needed.

We selected three projects for this month: videos, iPad applications and Facebook. We are only going to report on our video search project. More and more information is being presented in video format. Today, people tell stories, give advice and provide examples of “how to” information by video on the web. We began our session looking at a story from author Mike Perry. Each team learned how to search for one of his online stories and then they discussed ideas from that story. Teams also discussed what they learned about using the iPad to search this portion of the internet. We then asked Tech Club teams to search for “things from Wisconsin” on YouTube. For example: Nature in Wisconsin, Cooking in Wisconsin and Biking in Wisconsin.

Tech Club members learned how to tap, scroll, pinch, expand and type on the iPad. After brief orientation, these skills were refined as they engaged in web exploration. Tech team members searched for topics and watched videos. The Tech teams said the most enjoyable part of Tech Club was searching for topics that they selected. They chose to search for choir music, gardening and handyman “how to” videos. Coaches and Club members learned about each other and enjoyed the teamwork.

Everyone collects something.Coins, stamps, spoons and so on. But what do you learn about someone from the collections they have? The Collections group brought in two sets of internationally collected bells, sports cards, local history books, recipes… and dachshunds. Dachshunds in walnut, sterling silver, crystal and other materials. Bells from Norway, crystal dachshunds, autographed author copies of vintage books, rookie Robin Yount cards and passed-down barbeque recipes. So why do you collect something and what does a person’s collection tell you about that person?