WinGOGlobal

My name is Dominic Dwyer from the Neuropsychology Students' Society at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Earlier this year two gentlemen with non-fluent aphasia from the US visited our university to give a presentation on their experiences using Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT). This talk was educationally and personally inspiring to many of the attendees. Because it was of such great value I was shocked to hear that they had not given the presentation in their home country. This email is an attempt to establish a link between interested parties in the US and the presenters. What follows is a brief synopsis of the talk followed by contact details. Please distribute this email to interested parties within your association, university or hospital.

The talk was given by Harvey Alter and Winston Lindsley from the International Aphasia Movement (please see contact details below). Winston Lindsley presented first communicating using a combination of Melodic Intonation Therapy and video prosthesis. His talk concerned his rehabilitation from a major stroke, his struggles with aphasia, and the tools that he has found important following stroke. This section was closely followed by Harvey Alter's talk which displayed a remarkable use of melodic intonation therapy for the rehabilitation of what was complete non-fluent aphasia following a major stroke. Harvey also touched upon his experiences of rehabilitation using melodic intonation therapy, displayed the dissociation between speech and singing, and also provided insight into patient needs during acute treatment and rehabilitation. Please see http://wwwabc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s2033048.htm for more details of the tour.

The combined presentation was valuable to students, clinicians and staff for five main reasons: a) it provided an immense degree of insight into the experiences of the aphasic patient in the context of their personalised accounts of the condition, b) it increased awareness of aphasia and the possibilities of effective treatment, c) it was educational, d) it was personally quite inspiring to hear their determination during rehabilitation that culminated in a tour to give presentations in Australia.

I hope this email provokes an interest to have Harvey and Winston present at your university, hospital or association meeting. I would like to state that I have no financial interest in writing this email and when Harvey and Winston presented at our university it was at no cost to us; in sum, this email is not spam, it is a genuine attempt to share what I thought was a valuable experience.

Please don't hesitate to contact Harvey, Winston or myself for more details using the following details:

International Aphasia Movement
Harvey N. Alter, President
165 Christopher St, Suite 2D
New York, NY 10014
212-217-2610
aphasiamovement@aol.com


WinGo Global
Winston J. Lindsley, President
4913 Tydfil Ct.
Fairfax, VA 22030
winstonjlindsley1@hotmail.com


Neuropsychology Students' Society
Dominic Dwyer, President
Department of Psychology
School of Behavioural Science
12th Floor, Redmond Barry Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010 Australia
Tel: + 61 3 8344 4304
Fax: + 61 3 9347 6618
d.dwyer@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au