Aphasia Advocacy Foundation Storyline page

My name is Dave Halloran and I am the founder of the Aphasia Advocacy Foundation. Our lives were changed forever on July 6, 1999 when I suffered a massive stroke! Through this stroke I have learned that...

Speech is the most important piece of communication and Aphasia can happen to anyone.

Can you imagine if the last word you uttered tonight was the last word you would ever say with ease?

At the time of my stroke my wife and family were not told I had Aphasia or what is was. I was being treated for stroke complications and they were not given any hope for my recovery. My family was told that if I did live, I would be a vegetable and it would be best if I were put into a facility that could best care for me long term. Through my wife's insistence, I was sent to Catholic Medical Center, Rehab Medical Unit in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was in their acute rehab unit that I came back to life.

With all of the problems that I had, my speech loss had never been given a name. After several weeks we were finally told that I had Aphasia. My speech therapist gave me identification cards so that I could point to what I needed. When I left the hospital, speech services were provided at Dartmouth Commons. Here my therapist taught me to put words together and to use strategies when I couldn't get the words out. Through the next two years we learned that rehabilitation was possible.

Through my wife's dedication and my eagerness to get back to what I had once been, we decided that I would continue with outpatient rehab and go to as many group meetings as we could find. At that time we found that there wasn't a place our area for the survivor, their caregivers, or their families to get the needed help or resources. We decided to make this a priority. We also found through others that once your insurance or disability services were exhausted, there was no place to go for the rehab that I still needed.

I was fortunate to live within a few miles of a local university here (UNH) and several people suggested that I contact them to volunteer for their Speech and Communications Department. I did and they have helped me a great deal! They helped me to refine my speech and helped me talk in a more natural style. They taught me to put the words that I did have together to make full sentences. They are still working with me today to help me speak in more normal patterns. Speech therapy for a person with Aphasia is for life.

My wife and I were in Tampa in June of 2004 for the National Aphasia Association's Speaking Out Conference. I was honored with the National Aphasia Association's Advocacy Award. The realization hit that I have made a difference to people with Aphasia. Driving home from Florida, we knew there was more that we could do to help victims of Aphasia and their families. We decided then and there that we would find a way to combine the needs of the victim and provide continuing help and support for all those that needed it.

When my wife, Rosemarie, and I came home to New Hampshire we developed and formed the "Aphasia Advocacy Foundation". We wanted everyone to know that there is help out there not only for the victim but for the whole family. The majority of people with Aphasia are discharged from hospitals without knowing their condition has a name or that their condition can imporve with time, speech therapy, and/or community support groups.