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by Kathleen Depperschmidt (Author)
There are no words to fully describe the heartbreak of losing the ability to communicate. Only those who have experienced this loss can give us a look inside such silence. In The Tip of Your Tongue: A Speech Therapist's Tribute to the Power of Communication Lost and Found, the author has given a voice to thirteen people whose communication abilities have been compromised by stroke, illness, head injury or conditions such as cleft palate, stuttering or deafness. Multilingualism is highlighted as a potential liability. Some regained lost abilities, others will continue to live with impairments for the rest of their lives. Others continue to improve with time, effort and further speech therapy. From the heart, these thirteen people open up to share their experiences and feelings surrounding their communication difficulties. The author prefaces each interview with a non-clinical, informal account of her experiences with each communication disorder as a fellow communicator first, and a speech therapist second. At some point, each of us has communicated with someone whose speech, hearing and/or language abilities are impaired. This book offers awareness of such difficulties, and ideas to enhance communication interactions with anyone who struggles. If you are one who struggles, this book offers further insight and hopefully a connection with those who truly understand. If you are blessed with "normal" communication, you are offered the opportunity to be more grateful for one of the most amazing abilities possessed by humans.
