Meeting the Neuro Hero team

In December, I met my colleagues, Ian the “ IT guy” and Roisín the project manager. They are ever inquisitve and always have a critical take on things that relate to the project. I enjoyed the first meeting where ideas kept bouncing off the walls. My first assignment was to collect feedback from Speech and Language therapists around the world. The team were determined to improve their Talk Around It app which helps people with ‘word finding difficulties’. People living with stroke, brain injury, aphasia or dementia  often know what they want to say, it’s on the tip of their tongue but the word just won’t come out. This is intensely frustrating and debilitating.

Using SLT apps

I had seen many apps but this one was amazing; the visuals were clear & the format and layout was easy to navigate. I had used the therapy (Semantic Feature Analysis) on paper with my clients but I had never seen it in an app format. It was precise enough to be used by a therapist and clear enough for family caregivers to use at home. It made so much sense to me.

My first day with Neuro Hero

After the first  meeting with the team I walked around the streets next to Guinness thinking of the project and my next assignment which was to get a visa for my son so we could travel to my Motherland India the next week. We were bringing our daughter for the first time, everyone was waiting to welcome the new member of my family. When I talked about  the long queues and waiting time to get a visa with my team, everyone was so concerned and started looking for leads and people who could help me. Siitting in the B&B that night I realised that I not only have the dream project but I also have great friends to rely on and share my worries and happiness with.

Milind Sonawane SLT

Neuro Hero        Neuro Hero Blog        Research and Hope