SUNY Fredonia’s Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology are holding a quilt dedication ceremony to honor area stroke and head injury survivors and their families, many of which have been part of a support group operated through the Youngerman Center for Communication Disorders at SUNY Fredonia. The event will feature area stroke and head injury survivors who have created a quilt (photo attached) by compiling various quilt squares created by survivors and their family members, in addition to Youngerman faculty, staff and students.
The support group began in 2004, led by Julie Williams, a Youngerman Center Speech-Language Pathologist whose father had recently suffered a stroke. Despite having served as a counselor for 14 years, her newfound personal connection to these ailments made her realize there was an underserved need in the area for such a group, especially from the family and caregiver perspective.
The support group will resume its regular meetings, which are open to both survivors and their families, starting Tuesday, Feb. 17. The group meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 3 p.m. in room W127 of Thompson Hall. A typical meeting includes activities to help stroke/head injury survivors use compensatory strategies to improve communication skills, while providing them with educational information and the opportunity to socialize and share their experiences.
The Youngerman Center is particularly useful for those individuals in the community whose insurance benefit for therapy has been exhausted, but their hopes for improvement have not. For more information on this event, the support group, or the Youngerman Center, please contact Julie Williams at 716-673-4618.
