The Adult Communication Disorders Scholarship was made possible through the generosity of Ms. Amy Chaney Heffern (’86) and Mr. John Heffern (’83) for a student interested in any aspect of adult communication disorders. Ms. Heffern received her BA in 1984 and MS in Speech-Language Pathology in 1986; Mr. Heffern earned a BA in Economics in 1983 and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1988. Ms. Heffern has a private practice serving adult clients in the Princeton, NJ, area, primarily contracting with University Medical Center at Princeton. She is also in the process of founding the Central New Jersey Laryngectomy Support Group in conjunction with the local American Cancer Society, to provide support, education, and community outreach to individuals with laryngectomies and their families. Mr. Heffern is a managing partner and senior portfolio manager at Chartwell Investment Partners in Philadelphia, PA.
]]>Aphasia was written by Jim Gloster, a Charlotte, NC director, actor and writer. Gloster wanted to capture the story of his friend, actor Carl McIntyre who suffered a massive stroke in 2005 at just 44 years of age. As a result, McIntyre lives with aphasia, an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language but does not affect intelligence.
Aphasia is a double dose of reality told in narrative form. Carl stars as himself and portrays his life story in a powerful and nuanced performance. Aphasia uses comedy and pathos to raise awareness about aphasia and provide hope and inspiration to anyone working to overcome obstacles in their lives. The film recounts McIntyre’s first person experience during the stroke, his recovery and his struggle with his inability to communicate.
The film was shot in Charlotte, NC with approximately 100 crew members rotating through the eight day shoot. There are 33 speaking roles and roughly 35 cast extras that were used at different times. Most of them had had worked with Carl previously or knew of him, his career and his story.
“Aphasia was the perfect way for us to use our art to bring something positive and far-reaching out of a tragic situation. And what better example to encourage anyone that has encountered a disability in life than to have Carl actually play himself in the movie? What Carl wanted to do most is act again, and Jim’s script has given him the opportunity to do that, while simultaneously providing a way for him to encourage others to do the same,” said Donna Scott, Executive Producer.
The production team of Jim Gloster, Chuck Bludsworth, Tonya Bludsworth and Donna Scott formed Little Word Films to produce Aphasia, in Charlotte. Little Word Films has partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences on this project.
Aphasia was also chosen as an official selection of the Prince Edward Island International Film Festival in Canada and was screened there in July. To learn more about the Carl McIntyre Aphasia Project, please check out our website and social media pages: http://www.aphasiathemovie.com and fan us as ‘Aphasia the Movie’ on face book.
More than 100,000 Americans develop the disorder annually. Aphasia affects about one million Americans, or 1 in 300 people. It is more common than Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy, however, most people have never heard of aphasia. While the most common cause is stroke, aphasia can also result from head injury, brain tumor or other neurological causes. To learn more, go to: www.aphasia.org.
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