You do amazing things. You set up mini golf fundraising events, write and direct movies about aphasia, and give keynote speeches at conferences. You make the people who interact with you think, “I want to do that, too.” You reach out and educate others, or you reach inward and drive yourself towards a personal goal. Our community is amazing, and we want to celebrate you.

 

We’re doing that with our new Aphasia Champions page.

What Makes Someone an Aphasia Champion?

While you need to be the fastest or the best when it comes to the Olympics, the National Aphasia Association’s standards are a little more forgiving. The goal of this project is to celebrate your accomplishments. Therefore, we’re open to anything that benefits the aphasia community or individuals with aphasia.

 

Raising awareness, supporting the community, reaching a personal goal, fundraising, inspiring others, creating art, or getting an award all count. Any time a person benefits individuals with aphasia—whether on a large or small scale—we want to cheer the person on and thank them for their hard work.

Who Can Fill Out the Form?

In an ideal world, the person who achieved the accomplishment would fill out the form because they would know how to best describe the situation. But we know that some people don’t like to talk about themselves, so we encourage speech-language pathologists to celebrate their clients, support group members to celebrate their friends, and caregivers to tell us about their loved one’s inspiring moments. In other words, anyone can fill out the form.

 

All you need is a name, the type of accomplishment, and a few sentences about the moment. There is also a space for an optional image.

See an Example

We’re highlighting champions on social media and in our newsletter, but you can peruse the list of current champions and read their stories. That’s where you’ll read about Chad Amond’s mini golf fundraising event and Coleman Watson’s movie.

See, we told you our community is amazing.

 

Now add to the project by telling us what makes you or someone you know an Aphasia Champion.