Our Mission

To improve communication and quality of life supporting independence and access to community life for adults and their families living with aphasia (and other communication disorders due to stroke, brain injury or brain illness).

Our History

Alan Chamberlain and Margaret Paul met by chance, joined by the needs of both their spouses with aphasia after severe strokes. Together they sought something more to help them adjust to the new realities of life with communication issues and physical disability. Alan provided the spark, Marg the drive, determination and action. Learning from the work of the Speech and Stroke Centre- North York (now the Aphasia Institute), they approached Ruth Patterson, a respected speech language pathologist who enlisted Anne Wells, a social worker, to help bring their vision into reality. The York-Durham Speech and Stroke Centre (now the York-Durham Aphasia Centre) began in the autumn of 1989.

Integral to the new Centre was the team of professional staff and trained volunteers working in a community location. With a structured program encouraging adult choices, clients regained a sense of dignity and learned communication strategies vital to the 'New Life' with aphasia and other communication disorders. Support from Parkview Services for Seniors in Stouffville gave us credibility and a beautiful home base. An initial grant from the Government of Canada seeded these beginnings and led to base funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health. This funding has supported services to hundreds of clients and their families at seven different community locations.