DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Demetrios Hadjisimos is recovering from a stroke, and he’s working hard to get stronger.
“My body works perfect,” Hadjisimos said.
But he’s quick to point out his mouth sometimes does not because he has a condition known as aphasia.
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“Aphasia is a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate,” Lorelei Benham said.
Benham cofounded the Georgia Aphasia Project, a nonprofit that is the first of its kind in the state.
The condition is sometimes the result of a stroke or a brain injury.
Treatment usually takes place in a hospital setting, but the Georgia Aphasia Project aims to give people who have this condition a chance to socialize.
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“We know people with aphasia have their intellect intact. It’s just very difficult to get their thoughts and ideas out,” speech pathologist Ariella Kaplan said.
The Georgia Aphasia Project set up the first-ever week-long camp in DeKalb County. Patients came from all over north and central Georgia to attend.
“We want people to come here to communicate with other people. To feel like this is a safe space where they have the freedom and time to express themselves in a way that is not rushed or judged by other people,” Benham said.
Hadjisimos knows he’s not the only one to go through this, and he says it’s nice to meet others with a shared experience.
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