How is it that survivors of stroke and certain brain injury are often unable to speak but they still can sing? The answer lies in the brain's physiology. By tapping into the undamaged right hemisphere, the stroke survivor can recall familiar melodies and express them through song. Enter, the Aphasia Choir.
The choir's director is St. Albans native and speech and language pathologist, Karen McFeeters Leary. "I've known throughout my career that individuals with aphasia have trouble speaking," Leary said. "I also knew that they were able to sing with relative ease and fluency and fluidity."
Recently, Leary spoke with VPR about the Aphasia Choir. She said three years ago when she "hatched a dream" to create the choir for those with aphasia - a disorder caused by brain damage that makes speaking difficult or impossible - she wanted to combine her career as a language pathologist and as a singer and choral performer.
I've posted before about my own story about stroke recovery, aphasia and singing. Here's a recent story about an "Aphasia Choir" in Vermont:
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