Say Aphasia Winchester support group called a success

Say Aphasia Winchester meets at St Peter’s Catholic Church every two weeks. It provides a space for people with the speech impediment to come together and meet, as well as help each other with treatment.

This includes having practice conversations with other members, singing songs and completing activities.

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Lloyd Brammer (left) and Jez Hodgkinson (Image: Chris Atkinson)

Jez Hodgkinson started the group in 2021, as, at the time, the closest support group for people with Aphasia was in Chichester. Since it started the group has slowly grown, with approximately 15 members coming to meetings on a regular basis.

He said: “I think one of the things we see is that what has caused our aphasia is different. We are not all the same. The other thing is we want people to be aware that just because we are struggling with our words sometimes doesn’t mean that we are not as intelligent. That is a frustration in the group.”

He continued: “We try to do different things every session, and that is because people can get bored. For example, we do music and singing, but there are people like me who don’t like music and some people don’t really enjoy it. If we did the same things we would get the same people.”

Lloyd Brammer, who is a peer leader for the group, said: “We have become friends. Meeting for coffee every two weeks and having a chat and joking around for a few hours is all really nice.

“We’ve had a lot of people coming along to see us and help, Steve Brine used to visit us a lot, and it’s really encouraging.

“So many people have come here, and we do all sorts. We have sung sea shanties, and chatted, it’s been great.”

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Jez said that he hopes to set up another Aphasia group in Southampton to reach more people.

He said: “That’s my ultimate aim, that we have one day in Winchester and one day in Southampton, but to do that we need people who are willing and able to help because it takes a lot of time and effort to do this.

“There are more than 1,000 people in Winchester with Aphasia, and approximately 2,000 people with Aphasia in Southampton. If we could reach them all it would be great!

“The group has grown slowly, but the Winchester group is one of the larger Say Aphasia groups now. People who want to come along are more than welcome to join us, the more the merrier.”