Aphasia Day 2017 9:30 a.m. Opening – Foreword: Mona Samuel / André Laqua / Egon Waldstett 10:00-10:30 a.m. Dr. Robert Darkow 10:30-10:45 a.m. Discussion 10:45-11:00 a.m. Coffee break 11:00-11:45 a.m. Prof. Dr. Gerald Wolf “When words get lost in the labyrinth…” 11:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Discussion 12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch buffet 1:00-1:20 p.m. Dr. Jenny v. Frankenberg “Intensive cognitive-linguistic speech therapy” – Berlin concept – 1:20-1:30 p.m. Discussion 1:30-3:00 p.m. Dr. Sabine Heel "Challenging Relationship Situations After Brain Injury: Dealing with Insecurities, Tension, and Aggression" Discussion for Family Members 1:30-3:00 PM Susanne Kompalik; Workshop – Drumming, Body Percussion for Aphasics 1:30-1:50 PM Judith Wawrzyniak "Supported Communication in Aphasia" 1:50-2:00 PM Discussion 2:00-2:30 PM Karin Jürschik, ALB member, with a short reading from her book "Eine Sekunden…" 2:30-3:00 PM Federal Association for Aphasia Material Exhibition, Book Exhibition, and Medical Products from REHAVISTA Berlin 3:00-3:15 PM Coffee Break 3:15-3:30 PM Performance by the Percussion Group 3:30-3:45 PM Choir Approx. 4:00 PM End of Event
Christmas Café 2017 On December 16, 2017, our Christmas Café took place at the Kiezspinne in Berlin Lichtenberg. As always, our "café" was very well attended, and the tables were festively decorated with cakes, fruit, and treats. As has become a long-standing tradition, the trio "3Satt" began with lively music over coffee and cake. The harpist "Märchenhütte" performed a somewhat more contemplative performance, offering Christmas music, fairy tales, and stories. Fitting for the Christmas season and reminiscent of our own childhood memories, the aphasic choir brought the evening to a close, inviting everyone to sing along. The slide show concluded the evening, a brief reminiscence of 2017. We are looking forward to the Christmas party in 2018. Christa Carl
Report on the trip of members of the Berlin Aphasia Association (ALB) to Rügen from September 10th to 13th, 2017. On Saturday, September 10th, 2017, the time had come again. The trip participants, including five people with aphasia in wheelchairs and their families, met at 9:00 a.m. in front of the Fürst-Donnersmarck Foundation travel agency at Blissestraße 12. As is tradition, we traveled with Christine Busch from the travel agency and Andreas Chevallerie, the driver and historian from Uhlenköper-Reisen in Uelzen. Uhlenköper-Reisen operates barrier-free coaches. One of Uhlenköper's advertising slogans is: Omnibus (Latin) means "For all" in German, meaning for people with and without disabilities. This bus with driver was available to us throughout the entire trip. Around 3 p.m., in pleasant, sunny early autumn weather, we arrived at Villa Sano on Strandstraße in Baabe on Rügen. After checking into the accessible rooms, most of the tour participants took advantage of the favorable weather and headed to the nearby beach. There were no waves, and some of us took a refreshing dip in the Baltic Sea, with water temperatures of 17 degrees Celsius. The subsequent dinner at Villa Sano (we had booked half-board) was, like all meals there, plentiful, varied, and good. The next day, after breakfast, we traveled from Baabe on the Rügensche Bäderbahn (Railroad Railway), a steam-hauled train, as the flyer describes it. The steam locomotive was, of course, the highlight of our half-hour trip to the seaside resort of Binz. We were able to explore the Baltic Sea resort of Binz independently in the morning. In the afternoon, we continued by bus to the neighboring town of Prora. Prora has a varied history and has only been open to the public since German reunification. We visited the treetop walk there with two simultaneous, separate tours, all accessible, as our tour group consisted of 30 people. This visit was an impressive experience. The organizer is the Rügen Nature Heritage Center in the Prora Forester's House, located on the Prorer Wieck. Once at the top, we were treated to a fantastic view over a large part of the island of Rügen. The island of Rügen, with its many beech forests, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List of "Ancient Beech Forests of Germany" since 2011. Jasmund National Park is located here. After returning to our hotel in Baabe, many of our participants enjoyed a relaxed get-together after dinner. The third day of our trip took us by bus directly to the aforementioned Jasmund National Park with the "Königsstuhl" National Park Center, located at the famous chalk cliffs. Here, too, we had a guided tour and viewed the chalk cliffs from the Königsstuhl. Afterwards, we visited the National Park Center. There, we saw a film and an exhibition about the natural world in this region. After these wonderful impressions, we took a bus ride back to the KDF facility in Prora. These are several kilometers of National Socialist buildings that continued to be used by the National People's Army of the GDR (NVA) after World War II. Now, after the reunification of Germany, some of these buildings are being restored and converted into apartments, but also into museums, restaurants, and memorials. On the fourth day of our trip, after breakfast, we left the island of Rügen with all our luggage in our bus and visited the University Hospital in Greifswald. This hospital has its own aphasia center. We were invited to tour the aphasia ward. The therapy director, Ms. Mareile Otto, who is also the director of the State Aphasia Center, guided us through the rooms. She showed us the music therapy room for people with aphasia. Through this therapy, the treating speech therapist uses various musical instruments to stimulate the brain of aphasic patients. In another room, there is a "sound cradle" into which the patient with aphasia is placed. There, they are alone and can freely perceive the musical sounds that motivate the brain. This improves the patient's speech ability. We were amazed by a car that was parked in a therapy room at the clinic. Here, patients with aphasia affected by paralysis are trained on how to get in and out correctly. This applies to both the self-driving car and those with aphasia who are riding in a car. The clinic also assesses the patient's ability to drive on-site. The driving ability test assesses any impairments in walking and perception (neuro-orthoptics). There is a social services department that provides advice and support, especially to the families of patients with aphasia. Of course, there is also a large physiotherapy room; Disorders of neuropsychology and clinical psychology are also treated. Through washing and oiling, patients' body awareness is improved, based on the concept of "basal stimulation." This tour was extremely interesting for the participants of our trip, aphasics and their families, and it provided inspiration for similar therapies to be performed in Berlin as well. After this clinic visit, we fortified ourselves with a snack in the canteen, and our bus driver then drove us back to Berlin, arriving at the travel agency promptly at 7 p.m. We were accompanied throughout the trip by a travel assistant who took special care of aphasics with more severe physical impairments. Margaret Voigt, Berlin, September 21, 2017