UCF offers speech therapy

Struggling to find the right words is something that most people experience at some point in time; struggling to find any words is another story.

For five years, Roman Nemec has had trouble forming words since he had a stroke at the age of 59.

Thanks to an anonymous $25,000 donation, Nemec can work on regaining his confidence and the ability to speak at UCF's  Aphasia House.

Aphasia consists of the loss or impairment of the ability to use or understand words, usually as a result of brain damage. Aphasia is  most often caused by a stroke. According to the National Aphasia Association, about one million people— or one out of every 250 adults— in the United States have some form of aphasia.

The Aphasia House is a facility specifically for adults that offers speech-language therapy in an environment much different from a doctor's office.

"The rooms may change based on what the client is interested in," said Janet Whiteside, a clinical educator at UCF and chair of the Board of Clinical Educators at the UCF Communication Disorders Clinic.

The house has four rooms that resemble what you would find in a typical home including a family room, a kitchen, a library/den, a garden patio and a garage. The purpose of the home-like feel is to make the patients feel as comfortable as possible.

On June 21, Whiteside welcomed four patients,  her first group of clients for a six week-long session. The intense program will be offered six times a year.

Nemec was one of the first clients in the house, which is located on Central Florida Research Park's Research Pavilion. Also housed in the same building is the UCF Communication Disorders Clinic.

Whiteside has high hopes for future patients because, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, personalized intensive therapy has proven to treat aphasia very effectively.

"There is a battery of assessments before and after the session," said Whiteside. "We can then find the strengths and disabilities of the client."

Helping her find the strengths and disabilities of the clients are UCF graduate students studying communication sciences and disorders. The students, whom she monitors closely from another room, provide individualized and group therapy under the supervision of certified clinical faculty. An example of the type of programs students can help with is sentence structures and verbs.

As an expert in the field and the recipient of the 2010 Honors of the Association Award from the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in Orlando, Whiteside is able to offer students advice on if a client's therapy needs to be altered.

Clients, like Nemec, and family members, like his wife, Kathleen, and his son, Nathan, are given a copy of the protocol so they can understand what is being done for treatment and why.

For Nemec and his family that was a relief because another speech therapy facility said that if he hadn't gotten better within six months, there was no hope.

Nemec, who worked as an airplane mechanic for 20 years, found the therapy intense at times, but it helped him to be able to read aloud.

Kathleen and Nathan said they are very proud of how far he has come.

"He always had a drive to fix things," Nathan said of his father, "and that hasn't changed."

Something else that hasn't changed is Nemec's ability to find humor in tough situations.

"His sense of humor has stayed intact throughout this," Kathleen said.

Though Nathan found it hard to see a strong person like his father go through this, he said he's glad his father has come out on top again.

Nemec is thankful for his progress and for the house he was able to heal in.

"UCF, I think," said Nemec, "is the best there is."