Would you go to McDonalds?

The other day, the members of the aphasia group were talking about what it is like to have aphasia. One person imaginatively said, "Going to an aphasia group is like being around fat people - you don't feel so fat!" Another person talked about a bad experience with the staff in a neurologist's office, "You would think that they would understand." But it was another comment that really got my attention. "Don't go to a fast food place - unless you can say 1, or 4 - even if that's not what you want!"

In our culture, there is trememdous pressure to speak quickly, and to the point. If you cannot, you are ignored, passed over, or treated like "damaged goods". The pressure is so great that sometimes at a restaurant people will order something that they don't want, just because they can say it. People who stutter know this feeling well. People with aphasia also feel embarrassed when their speech folds under pressure.

We try to tell people to live they way they want to, not to succumb to the pressure - but that takes a lot of courage!