6th Annual Talk, Stroll, and Roll fundraiser for aphasia

Watch this year's walkathon highlights here: 
Thank you to our incredible aphasia community for our most successful fundraiser yet!! This year we raised over $21,000 for the community aphasia programs. We're so pleased to be able to fund additional mental health support for our group members, trainings in aphasia and supportive conversation, and some new exciting special interest groups.

​Special thanks to our corporate sponsors this year, LDB Design Inc, Cadwin LTD, Evergreen Communication Therapy Ltd., and Good Year

Virtual Aphasia Information and Training Session

Interested in learning more about aphasia and how to support conversation when a communication breakdown occurs?

Caregivers, family, friends, community partners, and healthcare professionals are invited to attend our free virtual training session. Facilitated by Speech-Language Pathologist and Communicative Disorders Assistant.

Email info@h-pcap.com to be added to our notification list for our next training session.

Virtual Special Topics Groups

Special topics groups are bi-weekly conversation groups with a focus on:
  • specific topics of interest
  • meeting others living with aphasia
  • information sharing      
  • increasing confidence in conversation

Special topics groups are intended for:
- adults living with aphasia or other acquired
   communication disorders
- residents of Ontario, Canada
​
​Interested in being a guest speaker?
As a non-profit organization, we are looking for guest speakers willing to donate their time. ​
Please send us an email. We would love to learn more about your area of expertise!

5th Annual Talk, Stroll, & Roll Fundraiser for Aphasia


​Many thanks to everyone in our aphasia community for making this possible. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise over $16,000 for the aphasia programs and help improve quality of life for those living with aphasia.
​
"Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say." - Rosemary Crossely​

Important Update re: Aphasia Programs + New Contact Information

We are pleased to announce some exciting changes happening at the aphasia programs! 

As of July 3rd, our clinical team is now operating under a new entity, Evergreen Communication Therapy. 

We are grateful to the support of Monarch House for the past 7 years. We wish them continued success. 

The clinical team that you know and trust will continue to provide the services for the aphasia programs. 
​The following has been updated: 
- staff email addresses and phone numbers
- H-PCAP legal address
- new fax number: (365) 601-1690
- H-PCAP main phone: (905) 875-8474

Please contact us at info@h-pcap.com if you have any questions. 

COVID-19 Aphasia-Friendly Resources

We believe in improving communicative accessibility for individuals with aphasia and other communication disorders.

One of our SLPs has created aphasia-friendly resources to help individuals with aphasia who want to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

These materials allow someone with aphasia to understand the questions being asked, know how to prepare for your appointment, and help you to respond independently.

Imagine going to your vaccination appointment and there was no accessible parking, no push buttons, and no elevator to get to the vaccine clinic. We are very aware of physical accessibility but what about communication accessibility?

Consider these "communication ramps" and help spread the word.

​
Click on the images below to download the full PDF documents. 

We also recommend that you bring your aphasia wallet card with you to your appointment. 

Note: Click on the images to download the document. This will open a new tab in your browser. 
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H-PCAP supports rights and reforms for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and stands in solidarity.
Within our groups we are committed to showing support through our actions, words, and communication.
We commit to:
  • Providing a safe space to come together
  • Engaging in discussions about equality and justice
  • Ongoing analysis and reform to ensure no inadvertent biases are built into our practices and organizational structure
Please, reach out. You can contact us and provide feedback on your experience by calling or texting
905-875-8474 or emailing info@h-pcap.com

Sincerely,
​

​
Dayna O’Kelly, H-PCAP President 

Aphasia Program Newsletters

    Stay up to date by joining our aphasia mailing list!

March 1, 2016 Press Release:
Funded Aphasia Program Pilot Project Approved for Mississauga Halton
The Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs are pleased to announce that the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) has provided funding for a one-year pilot project to look at expansion of services for people living with acquired communication disorders in the Mississauga, Milton and Oakville areas.
 
In collaboration with community partners, conversation groups will be established to serve clients with acquired communication disorders who want to improve their communication. Community partners supporting the aphasia programs by advocating for the program’s importance, providing space for the groups, and/or providing client referrals include: 
The Halton Aphasia Centre, operating as the Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs, began serving clients in Burlington Ontario in 1984. In collaboration with the Central West LHIN, the program expanded into Brampton in 2014. Group therapy sessions are facilitated by a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and Communicative Disorders Assistants (CDAs) contracted through Monarch House Oakville, a division of CBI Health Group. The new Mississauga Halton LHIN aphasia programs also include Registered Social Worker support. Together, the aphasia program and Monarch House continue to advocate for people with aphasia and are working to expand aphasia awareness in Southern Ontario.
 
"We are thrilled to be expanding our services” said Brittany Clark, the program’s clinical lead and Speech-Language Pathologist. “Our goal is to enhance the communication skills and quality of life for people living with aphasia. Our services take into account the clients’ perspective and current communication needs, and our programming is designed to reflect the unique goals, wants and abilities of our clients.”
 
Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that affects over 120,000 Canadians (Rose & Attard, 2015) and over 1 in 3 stroke survivors (Dickey et al., 2010).  Following a stroke, brain injury or brain illness, adults with aphasia unexpectedly find themselves unable to or limited in their ability to express their wants, needs, thoughts, and feelings. Aphasia may cause difficulty with speaking, understanding spoken or written language, reading and/or writing, but does not affect intelligence.
 
As aphasia is rarely understood by people in the community, this disorder can cause individuals to withdraw from communicating with friends and family members. In a recent study, aphasia exhibited the largest negative relationship to Quality of Life in Long Term Care centres in Ontario, followed by cancer and Alzheimer's disease (Lam & Wodchis, 2010).
 
Scott Richardson, an aphasia group member since September 2015, expressed his enthusiasm for the opening of the new groups: "The Halton-Peel Aphasia group is a safe place to practice my communication skills, talking and writing. I'm encouraged to practice my oral and writing skills and the instructors/facilitators give me real-time feedback. It is a diverse group of members, who have amazing stories about their families and careers.  The program is supported by dedicated "outstanding" volunteers who are trained to deal with aphasia and encourage each member to strive to their individual goals." 
 
Resources, ideas and information are shared among program sites, community partners, and with other Speech-Language Pathologists in the Ontario Aphasia Centres Interest Group to continually enhance the aphasia programs and practice. For more information about program locations, dates and times, please visit the Contact Us page on this website. 

Dayna O’Kelly, H-PCAP Board of Directors President

Past Events 

Contact Us

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to receive program updates, read about our upcoming events, research about communication disorders and more!

​Call us at 905-875-8474 to speak with a member of the H-PCAP team. 


Halton Aphasia Centre operating as Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs