More Than Words

The ability to communicate effectively with others is a vital part of feeling connected; with family, friends and the wider community. Aphasia is a communication disorder that impairs the ability to speak, understand conversation, read, write and use numbers.

Aphasia can affect anyone  – it can be due to a stroke, tumour or brain injury and makes communication difficult. This affects a sufferer’s everyday life: working, telling a story, sharing a memory, or general conversation can be difficult or nearly impossible.

The Gavel Club has been designed for the needs of people with aphasia, and is run by the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research. Gavel Clubs are affiliated with Toastmasters International.

The group, ‘More Than Words,’ provides members with a way to rebuild their world. They meet weekly to develop the skills to help them re-join conversations with family and friends and reconnect with their community. They learn ways to improve their communication, build confidence, gain leadership skills, and make friends..

Members give both prepared and impromptu speeches and are encouraged to take on various roles within the club, such as Chairman or Toastmaster. This is obviously a challenge, and the members are supported during these meetings by a speech therapist, Toastmasters mentors, their loved ones, and trained volunteers.

They also participate in aphasia research – their communication confidence has been measured. This research has shown significant improvement in their communication confidence when compared to the beginning of the Gavel Club in 2013, through to the end of 2015. In their ‘real’ lives, this translates into members feeling more confident about speaking during day-to-day conversations.

Last year half of the Gavel club members presented at two national conferences including the New Zealand Speech Therapy Association Seminar and the Aphasia NZ biennial conference. Many of these presentations were 20-30 minutes long – a huge improvement from the two to three minute speeches they gave three years ago.