Aphasia Support are a registered charity whose mission is to improve the wellbeing of people with aphasia and their carers, by using technology, supported conversation and through the dedicated help of trained and compassionate volunteers, providing long term support. Your time will help the charity to meet its aims for providing support for people with aphasia and their carers:
1. To help people with aphasia and their carers to feel less isolated and more supported
2. To improve the communication skills of people with aphasia
3. To increase knowledge and understanding of computer therapy options among people with aphasia and their carers
This skilled befriending role involves supporting a client with aphasia in a one-to-one capacity to work on their speech and communication using speech therapy apps and supported conversation techniques. Volunteers are supported by the Volunteer Coordinator and Speech and Language Therapist to complete the following duties:
- Working one-to-one with a client on the videocall scheme, or face-to-face in the client’s home.
- Developing a good understanding of the speech therapy apps recommended for use by the speech and language therapist.
- Devising a bespoke care plan for the client, targeting specific functional goals.
- Hosting regular sessions with the client to review progress and relevancy of exercises set.
- Providing the opportunity for supported conversation practice using a variety of resources and mediums.
- Submitting weekly visit reports detailing the actions taken in each session.
- Attending regular training and supervision in-line with the expectations of the role.
Clients around Harrogate are currently waiting for support. You would have the potential to make a significant difference for these clients in their day-to-day lives by helping them to improve their functional communication. Living with aphasia can be a very lonely experience when you don’t have the tools to tell people how you feel or express your innermost needs. We use communication in almost every aspect of our daily lives, including using social media, talking with family, and even changing the channel on the television, but these things can all be very difficult when you have aphasia. To help, Aphasia Support sets functional goals that are designed with the client in mind, whether that be learning to text a friend, or participating more in group conversation. As a volunteer, you will help your client meet these goals and form new ones as needed so that they continue to progress forward towards a brighter future where communication is possible.
The good news is that the support works! As well as improving communication, volunteer support has also been found to help clients improve their confidence and sense of social isolation. At our last Client Satisfaction Survey 100% of our client base agreed that their volunteer “knows how to help and always encourages and supports me”, with 90% strongly agreeing. Join our team to keep the momentum going!
IT literate. Friendly, positive and patient. A self starter who is able to work independently. No qualifications required.
This position is particularly suited for:
Students of speech and language therapy, or those looking to explore or develop a career in that area.
People looking for experience managing an adult with support needs in a one-to-one capacity.
People looking to engage in outreach work in their community, as this role involves visiting people local to you at their home or over videocall.
People looking for a skilled befriending role with impressive responsibilities, this opportunity is sure to look good on any CV.
People looking for a flexible volunteer role with low monthly commitment and hours arranged flexibly.
People looking for a unique voluntary experience – Aphasia Support is the only charity of its kind across the country and the only charity offering this role.
We are always recruiting, with an induction most months of the year.
Minimum commitment of 6 months from client match (approximately 9 months from application). This is because we work with adults with low confidence and time taken to develop a rapport with a client is integral to building trust.
We ask volunteers to support 1 client initially, and can be either face-to-face or videocall appointments (funding dependent). Typical hours are fortnightly appoints, for an hour, with report writing after the appointment.
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Aphasia Support match people with aphasia (speech and communication difficulties) with a trained volunteer who will support the person to work on their goals using a variety of computer therapy programs available on Windows, iPad and Android devices, alongside supported conversation techniques.
All our volunteers are trained by speech therapists on the various computer therapy programs we support as well as supported conversation techniques to assist with befriending our clients, who are often elderly.
Speak With IT lends equipment and software to people so that they can test and determine which program best suits their needs. Our volunteers visit clients in their homes or online over Zoom videocalls (depending on availability and preference) to support them as they try the various therapies, giving family members and carers a little respite.
