Episode 138

When One Plus One Equals Three:

A Conversation with National Aphasia Synergy

In this episode you will discover:

1. People with aphasia hold the map. At NAS, people with aphasia don't just have a seat at the table — they built the table. Real peer leadership changes everything about how an organization thinks and acts.

2. Recovery is about more than speech. The isolation and psychological distress that follow aphasia are just as real as the communication challenges — and just as deserving of attention and support.

3. Peer-befriending is life participation in action. When people with aphasia support one another through shared experience, that's not a supplement to good care — it is good care.

4. Sinergia: one plus one equals three. When survivors and professionals work as true equals, something greater emerges than either could create alone.

June is National Aphasia Awareness Month, and around here, that means it's time for one of my favorite podcast traditions. For the past few years running, we've spent this month in conversation with people who know aphasia from the inside — those living it every day. Today is no exception, and this one is a conversation I've genuinely been looking forward to.

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong from Central Michigan University, where I lead the Strong Story Lab, and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access is dedicated to transforming services and environments so people with aphasia can participate more fully in life — and today's guests are living proof of exactly what that looks like.

Today I'm speaking with two leaders from National Aphasia Synergy — known as NAS — a peer-led nonprofit founded in 2021 by people with aphasia, for people with aphasia. NAS was built on the belief that those living with aphasia are best positioned to support others on the same journey. Through peer-befriending, technology empowerment, and community building, NAS works to end the isolation that so often follows a stroke — connecting people across the country through a shared sense of what they call Sinergia: the idea that when survivors and professionals work as true equals, one plus one equals three.

Today's conversation feels especially meaningful to me. I've had the privilege of seeing Trish and Amy in action at conferences like Aphasia Access and ASHA — learning from their presentations and watching their advocacy make ripples far beyond those conference walls. As someone who researches friendship and aphasia, I've followed the peer befriending movement closely — it began in the UK, and when I heard that NAS was bringing it to the United States, led by a peer organization, I thought: this is what life participation actually looks like.

Before we get into the conversation, let me tell you a bit more about our guests.

Trish Hambridge is the President and Founder of National Aphasia Synergy. Trish has lived with aphasia since her stroke in 2008, and that experience is the foundation of everything she has built. A former project manager for AppleCare, Trish has become not only a powerful advocate but a published researcher — partnering with research teams to influence the questions being asked and the evidence being built in our field. Her co-authored work spans game-based rehabilitation design, posttraumatic growth in aphasia, and the measurement of motivation and psychological needs in aphasia rehabilitation — all published in leading journals including the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. She has spoken at conferences including the Aphasia Access Leadership Summit, Aphasia Access Chautauqua and ASHA, serves on the Disability Advisory Committee in Dunedin, Florida, and is a member of Voices of Hope for Aphasia. Her vision brought NAS to life, and her leadership — in the clinic, in the research literature, and in the community — continues to shape it.

Amy Walters is the Vice President of National Aphasia Synergy. Amy has lived with aphasia since her stroke in 2018 — a stroke that, in a striking twist of fate, occurred while she was attending a neurosurgical conference. A Harvard graduate with a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins, Amy spent 30 years as a senior leader in the medical device industry before her stroke, and she has channeled that same expertise and drive into aphasia advocacy. She has presented at neurosurgical conferences to raise awareness, participates in aphasia groups across the country, and brings a remarkable combination of professional knowledge and lived experience to everything NAS does.

So — let's get into the conversation.

Katie Strong: Trish and Amy, welcome. I'm so excited to have you both here today and learn about what's going on in National Aphasia Synergy.

Trish Hambridge: Thank you for the chance to meet.

Amy Walters: We are so pleased to be here with the Aphasia Access Community.

Katie Strong: Well, we're delighted that you are sharing your time and expertise with us. I wanted to get started by asking about National Aphasia Synergy. How was it created? Just wondering if you could share the origin story of the organization and how that concept of synergy or working together defines your mission.

Trish Hambridge: Long time ago, I had a stroke, major stroke. But I was the same person then as I am now. I remember sitting on the hospital patio in San Jose and Karen, my good friend from college and speech therapist was there, and she was teaching everyone about aphasia. My friends and family were so patient. I remember my Dad talking to me and say, "You are stubborn." and I said, "Thank you!" Because that choice – being subborn - changed everything and gave me the chance to get my identity back.

Katie Strong: So, Trish, just to verify, you're saying your stubbornness got you where you are right now.

Trish Hambridge: Yes, but yes!

Katie Strong: Love it.

Trish Hambridge: Sorry to say, I have issues! But going back to the beginning, I had only had five words. Even my 'yes' and 'no' were flipped. Traditional homework is not my cup of tea. Shhh! Quiet, I'm lazy! I needed a better strategy, and I found it with P2Go. It's so much more than an app. It is the tool that gave me my voice back.

Katie Strong: I love that, so if I'm understanding correctly, traditional homework is not for you, and that you really needed something that was technology based, which goes back to your expertise in your life, career to be able to really help you communicate, and it was the P2Go.

Trish Hambridge: Yeah, yeah, is small, is so, is easy, my opinion.

Katie Strong: Well, that's what we're here for today, is your opinion.

Trish Hambridge: In 2016, a move to Dunedin, Florida changed everything. I joined Voices of Hope and finally found my community. Then the pandemic hit. But it couldn't stop our connection. We moved to Zoom. I want to be honest, though: some of my friends didn't make it through that storm. Their pain is part of this journey. We build this community in their honor.

Katie Strong: Oh, that's really touching, you know. It is. It's hard, so many friends don't stay in our lives for many reasons, but aphasia can really be a challenge for friends sticking around.

Trish Hambridge: Yeah, and the technology is not my cup of tea.

Katie Strong: Wonderful, wonderful. Thank you for sharing that.

Trish Hambridge: In 2021, I stepped up. I moved from a 'Lead Pathfinder' to the Founder of National Aphasia Synergy. I reached out to Debbie Yones, the big cheese of Voices of Hope. She and the Board Director gave me wise advice to help me grow. I didn't do it alone.

My sister and my sister-in-law helped me think through the logistics. They helped me build the support for the nonprofit. Because of them, my vision became a reality.

Katie Strong: So, your consultation with those important people to your life really helped National Aphasia Synergy become a reality.

Trish Hambridge: Yeah. Finally, I asked Amy to join the mission. She became part of the organization. Now, we are moving forward together.

Katie Strong: Thanks, Trish. I love that.

Amy Walters: Thanks, Trish. Nine years ago, I had my stroke at the neurosurgical conference. Ironic, right? Yeah, the conference was in Colorado Springs. I was in a medically induced coma for 10 days and diagnosed with Global Aphasia. Then I was airlifted to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where I had a craniotomy and cranioplasty. On the flight I remembered thinking, "Am I in a simulator? What's happening to me?"

Katie Strong: Wow! That sounds surreal!

Amy Walters: My career was in cli...