I can honestly say that without the support of Elizabeth our lives would be heading in a very different direction. My husband suffered a stroke 5 weeks ago and as a result he now has fluent dysphasia. I was very aware of the importance of intense SLT from the outset. This is a life changing episode that we are still trying to come to terms with, the sense of loss, the fear of what the future holds, the ‘how will we get through this?’, the sense of isolation in social settings and the not wanting to take everyday choices and decision making away from a man who ran his own business was, still is a very strong, determined and principled individual who enjoyed family time, sports, socialising and loved a challenge. Having beaten cancer in the past this is the greatest challenge he has faced or should I say we have faced as we are in this together. Elizabeth has not only given my husband hope and the confidence that he can and will improve but she has given me a light at the end of the tunnel, everyday I am seeing a little more of the old husband emerge. It’s extremely tough but we are both learning to, at times, laugh through the difficult days and concentrate on the positive days. Not a lot of difference between my husband trying to tell Elizabeth about a golf swing – “should not try too hard, slow and relaxed and the ball will go further, don’t force it..”  the golf swing approach and the communication difficulties he is facing sound pretty similar! I believe that language recovery is possible not only in the first 6 weeks but months even years after a stroke but every patient is very different and cannot be categorised and expected to perform in accordance with the general rules; building on the strengths will diminish the weaknesses not seeing the disability but concentrating on the ability is essential.  My husband can clearly contribute to the learning and development programme that is personalised to him, concentrating on his interests sparks much more positive outcomes which in turn raises confidence. Assessment should be continuous but I feel the outcome is dependant on the relationship between therapist and patient.. that is the actual starting point the assessments can then follow on from that.  Also the importance of including the family in therapy sessions as they can then continue on with the programme until the next SLT session.  We have a long way to go but I cannot praise Elizabeth highly enough, I work in the Health Service and I have to say that her personalised approach is a breath of fresh air & definitely the way forward.