What's important in friendship for people with aphasia
- Being there
- Making an effort and hanging in there - its hard work for both of you
- Friends who are reliable and constant
- Regular contact – face to face or contact via Facebook or text
- Loyalty and trust
- Being open and honest
- Mutual respect – friends who know and respect you and are not so worried about your disability
- When friends have faith in you and what you can do
- Getting out
- Doing something together
- Friends who help with practical things e.g. help filling in forms, picking up children from school, changing light bulbs
- 2 way relationships - to and fro, give and take on both sides not all one way traffic
- Opportunities to help a friend– gives a ‘buzz of wellbeing’
- Understanding the communication situation
- Making an effort to understand
- Being prepared to try
- Creative adjustments to communication
- Patience – being ‘sincere in your patience’
- Managing silence
- Memories and shared histories with old friends
- Support and friendship from people in the same boat e.g through stroke and aphasia support groups
- Self belief and self understanding
- Time …to deal with everything that’s going on, to understand what’s
happened, to get to grips with life and relationships