(upbeat music) - Hi, everyone.

Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program with our longtime friend, Naomi Gewirtz, who is the President and CEO of the Adler Aphasia Center.

Part of our series Voices of Aphasia, we're doing in cooperation with the center.

Good to see, Naomi.

- Good to see you too.

Thanks for having me.

- Listen, I never wanna assume people know, that people know exactly what aphasia is.

Some of us have family members, you included, impacted by aphasia, but for those who may not know, please let them know, Naomi.

- Sure.

So many people don't know what the word aphasia means.

Ultimately, when we talk about aphasia, it's loss of language, not intellect.

And so after stroke or brain injury, the language center of the brain can be impacted.

And so when someone is trying to get their words out, they have often a hard time finding those words.

And so they know what they want to say, but they can't find the words.

And so at the Aphasia Center, we work with our members to help them with their communication, introduce new ways to communicate and build community.

- You have a personal connection to aphasia- - I do.

- With your dad.

Please.

- Yeah, so like many, I did not know the word aphasia.

And shortly after working at our center, my dad personally was impacted, had a stroke, then had aphasia as a result of it.

And so everything that I heard about and learned and saw firsthand at the center, I was then experiencing as a caregiver myself.

- Yeah.

You know, I only know about aphasia because of two people, Mike and Elaine Adler.

They started the center.

They brought me in and a bunch of other folks to try to be helpful and be engaged in public awareness.

That's what we've been doing.

I've been honored to host the annual gala of the Adler Aphasia Center for years.

Go on... Jacqui Tricarico, our Executive Producer of Remember Them, and I did a special on Mike and Elaine.

Go on our website, check that out.

Mike, you know, Mike experienced aphasia.

Elaine cared for him and became such an advocate.

Why, for those did not know Mike and Elaine, why are they so incredibly important in the fight to create greater public awareness around aphasia?

Please, Naomi.

- Yeah, so Mike and Elaine, you know, they created a voice and a platform for people to learn about aphasia in New Jersey and nationally.

And New Jersey what they did was not only create a space for advocacy and awareness and education, which is part of our mission, they very much created a space for people to come to.

People who have aphasia, often after stroke or brain injury, are in a rehab facility after leaving a hospital.

They do outpatient rehab.

And for many after that, they are home.

There is no place for them to go.

And so the center is really where Mike and Elaine saw a place for people to find a home, find people who are like them not be alone in this journey, because for so many, including someone like Mike, what they experienced was that you can go through sort of the normal experience of the hospital and the rehab and so on, but then what is there for you, which is really the impetus for them creating the center and really a community, something that doesn't feel medical, but a place that people desire to go to following these experiences.

- I'm curious about the Adler, excuse me, the Aphasia Communication Groups.

And you're also doing it in cooperation with some of our higher ed partners down at Stockton University as well.

You partner with all kinds of folks.

What are these Adler, excuse me, these aphasia... I can't say aphasia without the Adler name.

That's what it is.

The Aphasia Communication Groups.

Please talk about it.

- Sure, so the Aphasia Communication Groups, it's a part of our programming.

And so all of our programming in a sense is groups for people who have aphasia, while also, of course, serving caregivers and the general community.

But for people who have aphasia, many do want to come to our centers and have a way to get here, whether it be through community transportation, transportation they can provide themselves.

Some aren't able to participate in groups for hours at a time or simply just have barriers that don't allow them to come to a center, such as the one that we have in Maywood, Toms River, or in West Orange.

And so the Aphasia Communication Groups are smaller groups that meet throughout the state.

We have many that are in person and also online virtually.

And so these are groups that meet twice a month for two hours at a time.

For some people, it is their choosing to do something like this closer to home.

Some people, the virtual option is best, but ultimately what it still creates, which is similar to what we're doing in person at our centers, is community, communication, seeing people who look and sound like you, and so that you don't feel alone.

- You know, I know that the Adler Aphasia Center is very committed to helping medical students, nursing students, those who become physicians and nurses understand more about aphasia, how to treat more effectively patients dealing with aphasia and family members.

Talk about that initiative.

- Sure.

So one of the things that we do that we're really very proud of is we bring in medical students, nursing students, as you said, and they meet with our members.

They learn from our members firsthand.

They hear about the experience that those, then patients, now our members, had in the medical setting to better understand and learn what that experience was, could be, should be.

And so we're teaching these future professionals that are in medical settings so that it's not just a learning experience.

They're taking it back in real-time to the settings that they're in and in the future, and of course, in the future, wanting them to refer patients to us so they have a home away from home after stroke and brain injury.

- Aphasia does not discriminate, does it?

- Does not.

- Anyone?

- Anyone.

We have members here that are in their 20s, we have members here that are in their 90s, people from all backgrounds, all around the state, all sorts of professions, it does not discriminate.

But I think the thing that's really special about our center is that we have members here that can say a syllable, we have members here that can say sentences, and their aphasia isn't all that detectable.

The patience and understanding that our members have for each other is remarkable.

And so well, no, aphasia does not discriminate.

This is a place of acceptance and love and happiness.

There's so much laughter and joy here.

It's really a very special place around the state.

- To Naomi's point, every time I've been honored to host that gala, the Adler Aphasia Gala, I meet new people dealing with aphasia, their family members.

We've had many on our programming, which is why you should go on our website, SteveAdubato.org, and check out previous interviews.

These people are, their voices matter, their voices are powerful and impactful and inspiring to so many.

And the work of the Adler Aphasia Center is a key part of that.

And to Mike and Elaine who are no longer with us, but their spirit lives on, their work lives on, the team that they built continues to do what they're doing, I say thank you.

We look forward to continuing to partner with the Adler Aphasia Center and creating more public awareness.

And by the way, Bruce Willis, one of the most famous people in the world, is dealing with aphasia.

He's just one of many, and they're not all famous, but they're all fighting to find their voice in challenging times.

Naomi, I wanna thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you, Steve.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

Valley Bank.

Stockton University.

The North Ward Center.

The Adubado Center for Media Leadership.

South Jersey Industries.

And by EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by BestofNJ.com.

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