“Miniature schnauzer…”
“Llhasa apso…”
“Pomeranian…”
These were just a few of the dog breed names that participants of the UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic’s Athens Aphasia Camp practiced pronouncing together while playing a game of “Man’s Best Friend Bingo.”
The activity served as a fun, low-pressure way for eight adults with aphasia to engage in conversation, build confidence, and connect with their peers. While marking off their bingo charts, they also found time to interact with and offer treats to two therapy dogs who joined the session as fluffy supporters—Sadie, a labradoodle, and Rocky, a cockalier.
For people living with aphasia, a language disorder that often occurs after a stroke, communication challenges extend far beyond speaking and understanding words. Aphasia can impact relationships, independence, confidence, and participation in everyday life.
“With this camp, we are encouraging people with aphasia to step outside their comfort zones and try something new in a supportive space where the stakes are low, but the rewards are deeply meaningful,” said Javad Anjum, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education. “We know that meaningful gains in communication happen when people with aphasia are supported in reconnecting with others.”
Funded by a Georgia Speech Language Hearing Foundation Community Impact Grant, the project was created and developed by Anjum and Nicole Hines, a speech-language pathologist and clinical supervisor.
The project team also included assistant professor Sarah Grace Dalton and administrative specialist Lauren Cawley, who helped plan and recruit participants for the camp.
Supporting the whole person
Inspired by aphasia camps across the country, the two-week program was designed to emphasize life participation through interdisciplinary collaborations, individualized enrichment projects, small group treatment activities, and one-on-one treatment sessions.The program also featured interdisciplinary collaborations with units both on and off campus, offering participants opportunities to engage in art therapy, music therapy, pet therapy, as well as exercise science and dietetics sessions.
“Our student clinicians conducted a range of assessments to determine the areas of need for our clients with aphasia. Based on these assessments, they created a few goals with them,” said Hines. “Life participation really focuses on supporting their personal goals, and that’s what they’re working on in individual, personalized sessions.”
For the faculty members and student clinicians supporting the camp, a life-participation-focused approach might involve pivoting from working on a task that fails to resonate with a participant to focusing on something more concrete and meaningful, like helping them communicate effectively with their friends and family.
“Sometimes, we have a very medically focused approach to rehabilitation, where we think these are the goals, these are the language skills we want to work on—and that might not be an ideal thing to do. Now, we are moving more towards a biopsychosocial approach to aphasia rehabilitation, one that recognizes aphasia as more than the effect of brain injury on communication,” said Anju.
“Aphasia can also impact a person’s confidence, identity, relationships, family support, and participation in everyday life. This approach to aphasia helps us support the whole person, so people with aphasia and their families can start re-engaging in life. So, this camp is a place where we have the time, we have the space, and we have the training to support goals that are meaningful to them and their families.”
Preparing future clinicians
Through the camp, Anjum and Hines are connecting the College's research with its outreach-based clinical services, giving student clinicians practical, real-world experience to prepare the next generation of speech-language professionals and researchers.“Working directly with speech-language-pathologists and adults with aphasia helped me better understand that communication challenges look different for every person,” said Kaitlyn Murphy (B.S.Ed. ’25, M.Ed. ’27), a graduate student majoring in communication sciences and disorders, who served as a student clinician for the camp. “I learned the importance of meeting people where they are and focusing on what they can do rather than only on what is difficult.”
During the camp, Murphy guided participants through enrichment projects designed to highlight their unique interests and identities while supporting the camp’s broader mission of empowering people with aphasia and their families.
Participants chose topics that were interesting to them—from daily exercise routines and horse-back riding to coffee drinks and baseball. They then shared their hobbies and interests with the skills they gained with fellow campers, graduate student clinicians, caregivers, and clinical supervisors.
Almost immediately, Hines noticed how her student clinicians learned how to adapt and navigate unforeseen situations with clients while also identifying areas of improvement.
“The growth of not only our participants, but of our student clinicians, has been phenomenal in such a short time,” she said. “They really stepped up their problem-solving skills and can even anticipate scenarios, and they’re prepared no matter how the session goes. It’s been amazing to see their growth.”
Anjum and Hines plan to host the aphasia camp again next summer.
“Our long-term goal is to create a home base for people with aphasia and their families in the community,” said Anjum. “We want them to know they can come to the clinic, ask for support, and rely on our team of aphasia researchers and clinicians as an ongoing resource.”