The expert aphasiatoolbox® staff revolutionized the treatment and recovery of aphasia and its related disorders. More great news, you can take advantage of this revolution wherever you live. The use of telepractice allows our experts to work with you and your caregiver from our office with you in your home. At no extra cost, you will receive practice materials, tools, a software program, and more that will allow you to practice hours a day. If you have been told you have reached a plateau, you need to contact us. Visit our Customer Reviews section to meet aphasiatoolbox plateau busters. We will never give up on you. If you know in your heart that you can improve, contact us.
Our work on aphasia treatment began in 1976. In 2005, we began to help people recover from aphasia online, using telepractice. Our staff has worked with hundreds of people with aphasia all over the world. We have shared our techniques with speech pathologists, rehabilitation centers and consumers at more than 200 presentations and publications.
Your treatment SHOULD NOT:
- -be boring,
- -be infrequent,
- -be based on apps or worksheets,
- -contain busy work,
- -lack creativity.
Your treatment SHOULD:
- -be constantly challenging you without frustrating you,
- -be robust,
- -train your caregiver to be a practice coach,
- -set-up hours of practice daily,
- -be aggressive,
- -contain ways to make your everyday life therapeutic,
- -never give up on you.
Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation appointment.
NOW meet our team!
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William ConnorsCEO, MA, CCC-SLP
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Sharon RennhackBA, MLSEditor; Certified Aphasia Practice Coach
Sharon Rennhack, ** FL For over 30 years, Sharon had a career as a researcher/librarian/writer, working in the fields of Advertising/Marketing, Financial Services, Management Consulting, and News/Television. Currently, after successfully using the aphasiatoolbox program for aphasia recovery, she is the Editor of the renowned Aphasiatoolbox® monthly newsletter and lead, certified aphasia practice coach . Her hobbies include kayaking, camping, and singing. She has presented at numerous state and national conventions on the topic of aphasia recovery with a focus on whole person recovery and family involvement in the recovery process.
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Brooke LangMA, CCC-SLPSpeech-Langauge Pathologist
Brooke Lang received her Bachelor's Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Connecticut in 2006 and her Master of Arts Degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. She completed her fellowship year at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in 2009, and was employed there until the summer of 2014. She had a leadership role in the management of VA Pittsburgh's PIRATE - Program for Intensive Residential Aphasia Treatment and Education ), and also was one of the lead clinicians involved with the program. Her areas of interest include Apraxia of Speech and Phonological Aphasia. Brooke began working with AphasiaToolbox in May 2015.
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Erin St. MyerBusiness Manager
Majored in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh . She brings a critical skill set to her position as Business Manager of aphasiatoolbox.com. She has 10 years of experience with the TriRivers Orthopedic practice where she worked on medical record completeness, accuracy and management for a large physician corporation. Erin also worked as a pre-K teacher at St. Paul’s Preschool in Pittsburgh, PA. Erin was elected in January 2012 to the Board of Directors for the North Allegheny Tiger Pride Association in Wexford, PA, a youth organization with several hundred participants.
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Nancy McCambridge
Nancy is a person with aphasia who works on the AphasiaToolbox® office staff assisting in data entry and management . She graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Pittsburgh, PA then she pursued a career in banking, eventually working in the accounting department at Nordic Fisheries in Pittsburgh PA. She has participated in numerous research studies at the VA Aphasia Health care program and the University of Pittsburgh. She serves as a volunteer at her local American Legion organization.
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Genevieve RichardsonSpeech-Language Pathologist
Aphasia Treatment Expert
History
1974 - The dream of aphasiatoolbox begins to take shape as Bill Connors studies language disorders and aphasia in particular with aphasia pioneers like Drs. Audrey Holland and Albyn Davis at the University of Pittsburgh.
1976 - Bill Connors begins to offer outpatient aphasia treatment in his private practice.
1988 - The Aphasia Support Group of Western PA is formed and grows to 50+ members.
1990 - In collaboration with Drs. Malcolm McNeil and Patrick Doyle from the University of Pittsburgh, Bill Connors creates the PATREC residential, intensive aphasia programs. Dozens of people with aphasia improve their communication skills in this week - month long program. Several hundred SLP students, SLPs and the rehab professionals gain valuable training in aphasia recovery.
1997 - The staff of PATREC provide the most subjects with aphasia for the World Health Organization's reclassification of disability and handicap.
2005 - Bill Connors leaves his position at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to formally create aphasiatoolbox® beginning the journey of revolutionizing the treatment and recovery of aphasia and related disorders.
2007 - First international presentation at the Ottowa, Canada Stroke Conference. Aphasiatoolbox.com pioneers the concept of online therapy with the use of software. The Aphasia Sight Reader (c) was conceptualized and used in practice for therapy to help clients with aphasia make progress even without a therapist.
2009 -Using oovoo, the online individual and group program is launched allowing for increased peer interaction, SLP, coach training and group practice. We add our second software program Verbal Working Memory and Attention Training for Aphasia.
2010 -The new aphasiatoolbox website is launched. The International Aphasia Conference in Montreal is graced with a presentation by Janet Ross, a person with aphasia who successfully used the AphasiaToolbox program to tell her recovery story to several hundred people. Bill Connors and client Paul Berger present on using technology to the Consumer Empowerment Panel of eHealth Initiative Capitol Building, Washington, DC.
2011 -Telepractice services begin to use the Webex platform offering much more versatility and tools enhancing the treatment and practice processes.
2012 -The aphasiatoolbox staff present at the National Aphasia Association's regional conference in NV.
2014 -AphasiaToolbox® is the lead presenter for adult disorders at the Speech-Language & Audiology Canada Convention and also begins to offer online, recorded courses for HomeCEU and SpeechPathology.com . AphasiaToolbox launches its official Newsletter asking Sharon Rennhack, journalist research writer and a person who used aphasiatoolbox treatment to travel the pathway of recovery.
2015 -The telepracticecommunity.com and its Facebook page Telepractice for SLPs is formed creating the first, comprehensive training and business coaching for SLPs wanting to offer services at a distance. This includes the world's first online, live, hands-on telepractice training bootcamps for SLPs.
2018 -The AphasiaToolbox staff now use BlinkSession as their primary video platform. The staff have now presented at more than 77 live venues including a nationally and internationally. These include more than 20 different state SLP conventions; 4 different Canadian provinces; 9 different graduate SLP programs. The telepracticecommunity program has trained more than 1,400 SLPs, organizations, and graduate programs in optimal tools and techniques. The Telepractice for SLPs FB page has grown to 4,000 members.