‘Tell them who i was’[1]: the social construction of aphasia

This article addresses people with aphasia. Talking (communication) is linked to the medical ideology and the social ideology. The medical ideology complements capitalism and promotes the individual. The medical ideology has the power for requiring ‘normal’ language. One speech therapist says, ‘…take away hope but it is a rare person who can go back to talking normally as they did before’. The medical ideology takes people with aphasia and constructs the incompetence which marginalises them from the work force and sometimes from their families. The medical ideology encourages dependency, which is disempowering. The social ideology under a different notion of talking encourages people to engage in two-way communication. I look at sharing information with a sense of humour, which is empowering. I illustrate that people with aphasia have to operate between the two ideologies.