Faces Of Tbi

Join Amy Zellmer as she chats with speech therapist, Rachel Katz M.S., CCC-SLP, about what Aphasia and how to communicate with patients who suffer from it.  Aphasia, which is most often the result of a traumatic brain injury or stroke, doesn’t affect intelligence, so it is not hard to understand the very real struggle of the patients experiencing it. In fact, a 2010 study on the impact of 60 different diseases and 15 conditions on quality of life for more than 66,000 people found that aphasia has the largest negative impact on quality of life, more than cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel is a Speech Team Leader at HealthSouth Sunrise Rehabilitation Hospital (HSSRH) specializing in aphasia, motor speech disorders, dysphagia, and cognitive rehabilitation. Her experience is with a wide variety of diagnoses, including primary stroke and brain injury patients in an acute inpatient rehabilitation setting. She is a member of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association and received the ACE award for ad