ACQ Vol 10 No 1 2008

B ook R eviews

have. It should also help address their isolation, as Angela Berens writes in her conclusion: “it is reassuring that you are not alone” (p. 98). I hope it continues to be circulated widely and offered as a standard resource. Reference Worrall, L., Rose, T., Howe, T., McKenna, K., & Hickson, L. (2007). Developing an evidence-base for accessibility for people with aphasia. Aphasiology , 21 , 124–136. Forsyth, Kate (author) & Street, Rosalie (illustrator). (2007) I am . Sydney: Macmillan Australia; ISBN 978 14050 38096 6; 24 pages (hbk), $19.95. Simone Lees

Berens, A., Laney, G., Rose, T., & Howe, T. (2006). The Australian aphasia guide . St Lucia, Qld: Australian Aphasia Association Inc.; no ISBN, 144 pages, $20. Available from the Australian Aphasia Association Inc. Deborah Hersh It is abundantly clear to anyone reading this book that it has been written from the heart, a “labour of love” according Georgi Laney in her introduction. The first author, Angela Berens, writes from the perspective of someone living with aphasia following a burst aneurysm at the age of 27. She, like many other people with aphasia, had little information in her early days post-stroke and little guidance in finding out what supports were available to her and her family. These experi­ ences contributed to her drive to be completely involved in the production of this book, the first comprehensive Australian information book on aphasia written for people with aphasia, as well as their families, friends, carers and those with whom they are in contact in the community. Most notably, this book is carefully presented to be “aphasia-friendly”, to be accessible to people with aphasia. Its third and fourth authors, Tanya Rose and Tami Howe, have researched and published on accessibility, particularly in relation to written information and their contribution is apparent (Worrall et al., 2007). Each of the eight chapters plus the additional sections (references, service directory and communication charts) are colour- coded, including colour strips down the sides of the pages, for easy access. The print is clear and larger than usual, and key words and phrases are emboldened. Certain sections are boxed, some information is listed using bullet points and there are relevant pictures, photographs and symbols used throughout. The writing style is clear, uses short sentences, and there is conscious use of paragraphs and clear space to make most pages reasonably easy on the eye. The eight chapters explain what aphasia is, how it affects people’s lives, what speech therapy and the AAA have to offer, the impact of aphasia on families and carers, strategies to assist communication, other sources of help, financial sup­ port and return to work, and finally driving and transport. Not only do these chapters include sensible, clear information, but they also are interspersed with quotes from people with aphasia which give the advice a very personal touch. The service directory is useful, not only including contact details for Australian aphasia supports and Speech Pathology Australia contacts, but also listing international websites of interest, national aged care and carer contacts, communication aids and assistive technology contacts, independent living centres, stroke and brain injury supports and transport information. Aphasia is such an isolating and disempowering condition and a lack of accessible information simply compounds the problems that people face in coping with it. No one book can ever please every reader entirely –one gentleman with aphasia complained to me that it would not fit in his pocket! But this book is proving very popular and obviously fills a need. Ideally it (and indeed, membership of the AAA) should be actively promoted by speech pathologists for each person they meet with aphasia. This book should answer many of the questions that people with aphasia, and those touched by it,

I am , by author Kate Forsyth and illustrator Rosalie Street, is a story about Tim, who is 4¾ years old, and likes to do many inter­ esting and imaginative things each day including swimming like a hammerhead shark, playing knights and making magic potions out of his mum’s shampoo! Kate wrote the story for her 4-year-old son, who was strug­ gling to use correct pronouns, in

particular “I”. The book provides various “I” phrases throughout the story, including “I like”, “I love”, “I can”, as well as “I am” and “I’m”. The book is being sold as an “excellent guide for parents to help their children overcome the difficulty of using pronouns”. The story is lyrical and flows well when read aloud. There are no repetitive phrases or rhyming passages though, so young “readers” would find anticipating the text difficult, at least initially. The vocabulary and phrasing is also advanced in parts, given the intended audience of 3–5 year olds, with phrases such as “wallowing hippo”, “blows bubbles on her feet”, “with swords drawn” and “claps her hands with glee” featuring within the more straightforward text. These provide excellent language enrichment opportunities, but perhaps detract from the main purpose of the book. The illustrations by artist Rosalie Street are delightful. They are brightly coloured and have plenty of detail. Unfortunately, the illustrations do not consistently link to the more advanced vocabulary and descriptions presented in the text, which makes teaching words such as “spider monkey” and “snail slime” more difficult. The illustrations do, however, provide a solid source of material for discussion and language stimulation more generally. The book would be a useful tool to provide “bombardment” of the pronoun “I”, and certainly the illustrations lend themselves to discussion about what “I like”, “I can do”, and “I think”. For a RRP of $19.95, the book would be a handy resource to lend to parents of children who are struggling to acquire this pronoun and need some extra exposure, using the natural context of joint book reading.

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ACQ uiring knowledge in speech , language and hearing , Volume 10, Number 1 2008