The Aphasia Choir of Vermont was founded in 2014 by singer/songwriter and former speech-language pathologist Karen McFeeters Leary.
The choir is comprised of stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors who have expressive aphasia (difficulty talking or using language) as well as spouses, family members, University of Vermont (UVM) students studying speech-language pathology, and rehabilitation professionals from the UVM Medical Center who provide assistance. Because music is largely mediated by the undamaged hemispheres of the brains of people with aphasia, they can sing and are often fluent while singing even if they have severe difficulty speaking or are nonverbal. Bringing these individuals together in song enables them to experience freedom of expression in a context that fosters social connections and a sense of belonging.
In honor of National Aphasia Awareness Month, the Aphasia Choir of Vermont performs a free public concert each spring, wherein educational information is provided in order to raise aphasia awareness in our communities. Concert audiences have grown since the choir’s inception, and attendees have used words and phrases such as “amazing” and “awe-inspiring” to describe what they’ve witnessed. In 2020, the American Stroke Association chose the Aphasia Choir of Vermont as the winner of their Stroke Hero Award for Outstanding Group.
Our 2023 Aphasia Choir Concert is available for viewing online at https://lcatv.org/aphasia-choir-concert-2023-06-04.