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The Aphasia Center is a specialty program of the Speech, Language, and Literacy Center (SLLC), which is housed within the Dr. Charles and Ann Sanders IMPACT Practice Center. It is part of the Master’s Degree Program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at MGH Institute of Health Professions. 

The Center assists adults who have partial or total inability to produce or understand speech as a result of brain damage caused by injury or disease such as people who have had a stroke. These are the members of the Aphasia Center. The Center also provides support for caregivers of the Center's members. 

Student Clinicians

The Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program at the Institute is nationally recognized as in the top 10% of academic programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

The CSD program provides a Master of Science Degree in Speech Pathology to students interested in becoming speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

To work as an SLP in most states, including Massachusetts, a master’s degree is required. As part of their graduate education, all students must complete “clinical practicum” experiences at local hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers, etc. The Aphasia Center in the Dr. Charles A. and Ann Sanders IMPACT Practice Center at the MGH Institute serves as one of these sites. Each semester, at least seven graduate students are assigned to work in the Aphasia Center. The students are in their second year of graduate school.

Anna Wilner

Anna, a graduate of the MGH IHP Communication Sciences & Disorders program, discusses the Aphasia Center and her work with clients.

Supervisors

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Esther Ayuk, MS, CCC-SLP

Coordinator, Aphasia Center Instructor Communication Sciences and Disorders

Marjorie Nicholas

Chair, Professor Communication Sciences and Disorders School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Suzanne Pennington, MS, CCC-SLP

Instructor Communication Sciences and Disorders