Inclusive activities designed by students

A Student Placement Success Story - in partnership with Leeds Beckett University 

Over the past five weeks, we have had the pleasure of collaborating with trainee speech and language therapists studying at Leeds Beckett University.

This placement saw students harness their knowledge, skills and experience to create a bank of Aphasia-friendly resources and activities 'to promote communication, social interaction and cognitive stimulation'. 

Together, they have created a wealth of resources for Aphasia Support - these will be used by our staff and volunteer team to deliver the charity's pathway of support across Yorkshire and beyond. 

Enhancing Communication Through Thoughtful Activities

We caught up with Hannah and Jade, two passionate students involved in this special project. They shared how they used a thoughtful and inclusive approach, saying: 

"When planning group activities, I carefully considered the diverse needs of individuals with Aphasia, including varying severities, expressive and receptive language abilities, and reading and writing skills." 

Their dedication to accessibility and engagement has enriched our services. The student's carefully crafted activities will be used on a daily basis to ensure that every individual, regardless of ability, can participate in meaningful interactions.

A Variety of Engaging Activities

Each student developed a wide range of activities. These have now become a valuable part of our resource hub, including:

• Music Quiz (100 Years of Music): Engages individuals with an interest in music, using a range of decades to ensure accessibility.
• Movie Emoji Quiz: Encourages participation without relying on written language.
• Category Generation Game: Helps with word-finding and supports expressive language.
• Odd One Out: Supports comprehension and receptive language skills.
• Phonological Component Analysis: A challenging tabletop task that enhances phonological awareness, expressive language, and word-finding abilities.
• Picture Description: Strengthens both expressive and receptive language by encouraging sentence-building.
• Story Starters: Promotes creativity, sentence construction, and expressive language in a fun and engaging way.
• What Am I?: Encourages individuals to formulate questions about different animals, supporting expressive language.
• Where Is This?: Helps develop expressive language and reading skills.
• Object Naming Matching: Supports both reading and expressive language development.

The activities above have been strategically designed to provide varying levels of difficulty, ensuring they can be tailored to each individual's needs. 

"I ensured the activities were suitable for individuals with Aphasia by incorporating different levels of difficulty and providing modifications to make activities easier or harder. This flexibility allowed for personalised participation and ensures that everyone can engage at their own pace."

The placement was an important learning experience, and one the students enjoyed reflecting on:

"I learned that simple and clear communication is best. Using too much text or complex words can be overwhelming and make completing a task more difficult. Using pictures, short sentences, and only writing what is important makes information easier for people to understand." 

A Lasting Impact

The significant contribution from students at Leeds Beckett University will have a lasting impact on Aphasia Support, leaving a collection of resources that will continue to benefit the charity and all the families accessing long-term support. 

"This experience has helped me to gain a better understanding of what Aphasia is and how it affects everyone in different ways. Not everyone needs the same support, so making resources that can be completed verbally or written would mean that everyone could participate. It is rewarding to think that members of the support group will improve their communication skills by using a resource that I had created - and to know that my activities will continue to assist people with Aphasia, even after my placement has ended!"

This placement has been a testament to the power of collaboration, actively creating meaningful change. We are extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the students involved in this project. Their efforts strengthen our bank of engaging and beneficial resources designed to support individuals with Aphasia. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Leeds Beckett University and welcoming more students who are passionate about making a difference!