About

At Friends of Aphasia, we are dedicated to truly changing the lives of individuals and families living with aphasia through the following endeavors:

Imagine losing, in an instant, your ability to communicate. Imagine struggling to say your name, write a simple email, or read the newspaper. These are realities for individuals living with aphasia.

If you are like most people, you’ve probably never heard the word aphasia. Aphasia is a language disorder that robs individuals of their ability to speak, understand, read, and/or write. Typically, it results from a stroke, but it can also be caused by a traumatic brain injury, a brain tumor, a brain infection, or brain degeneration. Despite limited public awareness, aphasia is far from rare; it affects over two million Americans - over 6,000 people in Pima County alone. Those numbers continue to grow as our population ages and as medical advances increasingly save the lives of individuals who suffer strokes and other brain injuries. To help the growing number of people affected by this devastating disorder, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and  her Speech-Language Pathologist co-founded Friends of Aphasia (FoA).

FoA improves the lives of those living with aphasia by providing quality, person-centered aphasia services focused on re-engagement in meaningful life activities. FoA offers structured, facilitated groups that address not only language and communication goals but life goals. The groups also provide much-needed community and camaraderie to individuals isolated by aphasia. FoA also provides community education, advocacy, and outreach programs.