沟通是任何关系的核心。

因此，当一个人经历沟通障碍时，语言往往不是唯一的受害者——人际关系也会受到影响。

In January 2017, graduate students from Pacific University partnered with the 失语症网络 to offer a weekend camp at the Oregon Coast for couples affected by aphasia, a common disruption to the language center of the brain, often caused by a stroke.

“Usually, it’s one person who has aphasia and one person who has more of a caregiver role,” said Alex Bing SLP ’18, a second-year student in Pacific’s 语言病理学硕士学位. “我们关注的是他们擅长什么、擅长什么……我们正在研究其他可能对他们有用的沟通策略。”

Bing and others in the 传播科学与疾病学院 brought communication tools — but they also joined students from the Pacific University 职业治疗学院, who specialize in helping people adapt their environments and actions to accommodate different needs.

“Occupational therapy is often disguised in games and having fun, but there’s always a scientific reasoning behind it,” said Anna Hall, a first-year student pursuing her 职业治疗博士. “我们正在赋予个人做出选择的权力。 它伪装成一种有趣的活动，但你仍然可以观察到他们是如何与人交流的，他们是如何处理挫折的，以及他们是如何处理自己的决策的。”

对于太平洋大学的学生来说，夏令营是一个与其他医疗保健专业人员合作和实践临床技能的机会。 但他们也希望他们能够为营地参与者提供终身技能，这将增强他们的人际关系，帮助他们与失语症共存。

“失语症患者失去的最重要的东西是文字，”Annabelle Watts说。 “我真的希望来到这里的参与者意识到这是一个巨大的交流世界，这里有所有这些其他的方式来促进交流，享受乐趣，重新融入生活和他们的伴侣。”