Client Stories
Our client stories clearly demonstrate that the Aphasia Center of California is a place where miracles happen and lives are truly transformed.
David Giacomelli
Like many Italian families, Gail and David Giacomelli enjoyed an active social life that included travel and time with family and friends. David was known for hosting large dinner parties where he cooked wonderful meals, entertaining everyone with his conversations and stories. Then one night everything changed.
After the stroke, David had difficulty speaking, he couldn’t walk, and those around him struggled to understand him. Gail needed to work, so David spent long days alone at home. His old friends and family members visited often, but his progress was slow.
Everything changed for David when he began attending the Aphasia Center of California. He participated in two communication treatment groups a week, which brought structure to his life. Now David is eager to come to the Center where he enjoys communicating with his ACC buddies and the speech-language therapists. “At first he couldn’t communicate at all, but now he has 90% of his life back,” says his wife, “socially, his confidence, and his personality.”
Stan
Stan, once an outgoing man, lost his job as a substitute teacher and turned to drugs. Then he had a massive stroke. At the age of 55, he found himself homeless and unable to communicate. He received limited speech therapy at the county hospital, but was left with significant communication difficulties. Stan was angry—he felt very isolated by his aphasia. He had managed to get clean and sober after his stroke and was motivated to improve his communication skills. But without health insurance, he wasn’t eligible for additional speech therapy.
When Dr. Elman first met Stan, he was living independently in subsidized housing and very eager to attend the Aphasia Center programs. He enrolled in a communication treatment group, and, almost immediately, Stan’s mood changed. During the first group session, he met six other people with aphasia and learned, in those first 90 minutes, that he was no longer alone.
From that day forward, we have been witness to an amazing transformation: Stan’s anger is gone and his communication skills are improving every week. Recently Stan said to Dr. Elman, “I’m happy!” These two small words speak volumes about the importance of the Aphasia Center of California.
