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Design of Products for Stroke Survivors for Improved Work and Home Life, Year 1

Aphasia Talks began as the first year of a three year Archeworks student project in collaboration with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The goal, as laid out by a grant from the National Institute on Disabilities Research and Rehabilitation, was to design innovative applications that address and accelerate stroke patients’ rehabilitation and help them reintegrate into productive life. More generally, the grant-entitled Technology Promoting Integration for Stroke Survivors: Overcoming Societal Barriers-prescribed the following objectives: reintegration, socialization, recreation, education, and strengthening.

In mid-2006 Archeworks students and RIC medical professionals developed a discussion class in which people with aphasia used photography to express themselves. Dubbed Aphasia Talks, the class drew inspiration from the Photovoice methodology, a grassroots technique that gives cameras to those whose point-of-view is rarely seen. The class's goal was to reach beyond medicine and address the broader scope of stroke-related issues by providing a way for people to reintegrate into everyday life while having fun and building emotional and communicative strength. They took pictures of themselves, their spouses and pets, their childhood homes, their favorite paintings, their computer screens. They photographed cloudy skies, the city skyline, and sunlight glinting through tree branches. Some brought in pictures from before they'd had a stroke. As they described the photos and answered other class members' questions, these stroke survivors found themselves able to communicate more fully than they had before. They discussed needs and experiences that had previously been unacknowledged or undefined. Both inside and outside of class, they began sharing advice about coping with emotional ups and downs or how best to ride a bike with one significantly weakened arm. And as participants identified and gave voice to their needs, the class came up with new interventions to help fill them. One example: a digital camera, redesigned so that people with impaired vision and mobility could use it easily.

The photographs and class discussions were used to develop AphasiaTalks.org, an interactive website. The hope is that the site will deepen the impact of the Aphasia Talks project by providing a novel resource for persons with aphasia, their friends and family, and medical professionals. Overall, the project sought to give people with aphasia a new and effective way to express themselves. Through photography, class participants were able to discuss their lives before and after their strokes. They talked about their hobbies, their travels and their thoughts and feelings. The conversations revealed a world of common interests that reached beyond aphasia. The class fostered reintegration, socialization, education and strengthening in a recreational atmosphere. We hope this website will help others understand aphasia by introducing them to real-life people who have it.

Visit www.aphasiatalks.org for more information

PROJECT UPDATE:
Archeworks Design4Stroke Team members in collaboration with the RIC launched the Aphasia Talks web site in spring 2007 www.aphasiatalks.org

“Design4Stroke” Design of Products for Stroke Survivors for Improved Work and Home Life (Year 2)

FINANCIAL SUPPPORT
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago through a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Contact Email:
info@archeworks.org