Name:
Rosemary Townsend
Job Title:
Chief Executive and Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Place of work / study:
Dyscover Ltd , Aphasia Support Charity in Leatherhead Surrey
Area of Research:
I am a clinician specialising in group support for chronic aphasia. I am a member of the steering group which supports Anna Volkmer’s PhD study on conversation therapy for people with Progressive Aphasia and am co supervising an MSC project also in the area of PPA.
How is your work funded:
A combination of grant making trusts, individual donations and community fundraising
Tell us a little about yourself:
I have been a clinician for 30 years, supporting adults with communication problems caused by neurological injury or disease. I have worked in a variety of NHS and independent settings and since 2015 I have taken the lead role at Dyscover, a third sector organisation.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
I once went on a 3 day silent retreat – not easy for a speech therapist!
Why did you choose to work in dementia:
I was aware of an unmet need for specialist support for people living with progressive language loss caused by Fronto Temporal Lobe Dementia.