For many of us, as children, we had the opportunity to listen and learn about our family history from our grandparents. Often, we took this time for granted and seldom asked, what would happen if we never heard their stories?

Ginger Binder suffered a stroke 12 years ago and lost her ability to speak almost entirely. Using wordQ, she now captures her memories and stories for her grandchildren and future generations to enjoy.

Ginger’s verbal deficiency is caused by aphasia, a type of brain damage typically resulting from a stroke. Her memory and intelligence, however, remained fully intact. When her husband passed away three years ago, Ginger’s son, Jason, thought his children would never know him through the stories of Grandma and Grandpa.

“People with these [aphasia] challenges tend to become increasingly isolated. Very few go back to work, they typically cannot drive and are often homebound and alone,” said speech-language pathologist Donna Polelle, Ph.D. “They can’t read, so they usually pass time sitting in front of the television.”

Over a decade later, Ginger’s ability to speak even a few unassisted words at a time is still gone. However, she worked long and hard to regain her ability to put her thoughts into language and communicate by using the writing assistance program, wordQ.

“wordQ provides a way for people with aphasia to understand and connect with others,” Polelle said.

wordQ helps stroke and aphasia patients turn thoughts and ideas into language by providing assistance for individuals who have difficulty writing. They can choose from word suggestions based on what they type and hear them spoken aloud. Misspelled words and punctuation errors are also read back aloud, helping them to prevent, find and fix mistakes.

“The most empowering use of software for aphasia is in allowing people to use it to reengage” said Denise McCall, Executive Director-Snyder Center for Aphasia Life Enhancement, Baltimore, MD. “The need for alternative ways to communicate is huge.”

“I live alone and speaking is very hard for me,” writes Ginger. “But I must manage my schedule, appointments, finances, travel and relationships. I do this with help from wordQ. Every time I use the computer I use wordQ—many times each day. “

It was important to her son, Jason, that his children are able to learn about his childhood from their grandmother. To carry on her legacy, she is writing her memoirs for him and her grandchildren.

Read an excerpt from Ginger’s memory book…

Learn more about Aphasia and wordQ in this video (YouTube)

Ginger utilized wordQ at SCALE (Snyder Center for Aphasia Learning Enhancement). Learn more here.