What is Primary Progressive Aphasia?
PPA is language disorder that gradually impairs a person’s ability to speak or comprehend language over time. Unlike the aphasia that is acquired instantly as the result of a stroke or brain injury and improves over time, the onset of PPA is subtle, with symptoms arising slowly over a period of at least two years. It most often affects seniors between ages 45 and 64. Stroke or brain injury patients often have trouble making sounds or retrieving words. PPA occurs for a different reason, because the brain regions that control language become diseased and degenerate, resulting in communication difficulties that may mimic broader dementia. PPA is a type of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) that is caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain. Researchers are working hard to find out why this happens and how it damages brain cells.
People with PPA are fighting against a condition in which they will continue to lose their ability to speak, read, write, and/or understand what they hear. However, individuals with PPA benefit during the course of their illness by acquiring new communication strategies from speech-language pathologists.
Staying Connected PPA Class
This program is an introductory 8-week session for persons with PPA and their care partners offered by MnCAN 2-3 times per year. A care partner is requested to attend the group with the person with PPA.
The Staying Connected program is designed for people diagnosed with PPA in the first 1-2 years. Following completion of the Staying Connected program, a monthly PPA support group is offered.
The overall program goals are to offer support to both the care partner AND person with PPA in order to:
- learn about the characteristics and challenges of PPA
- help to cope with limitations and language decline
- provide an experience of increasing self-confidence
- discover and practice different strategies that maximize communication between care partners and individuals with PPA
- provide a safe environment to express and discuss concerns among peers
Over the course of 8 weekly 2-hour sessions, a Speech-Language Pathologist with the support of graduate student(s), provides education about Primary Progressive Aphasia and teaches strategies using Supported Conversation and Life Participation models that can be utilized and adapted throughout the progression of the disorder. At various points in the program, care partners and people with PPA may break into separate groups to discuss concerns specific to them.
Upcoming Class Details:
Spring Session 8-week Staying Connected
Dates: Thursdays from February 22nd – April 25, 2024
(No meeting on March 14th or March 28th)
In-person meeting in Roseville on April 4th
Time: 9:30-11:30am
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Email contact@mncan.org or call 612-524-8802 for more information!
Download a flyer for the upcoming class here: Spring 2024
PPA Ongoing Support Group
This is an ongoing support group for persons with PPA and their care partners who have completed the 8-week Staying Connected Program. The purpose of this group is to provide ongoing support and education during the journey with PPA for both care partners and persons with PPA.
The Support Group has an in-person option OR virtual option. The group is facilitate by a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Please refer to the MnCAN calendar for meeting details.