26/06/08 - Edwyn Collins supports Connect,  the Communication Disability Network

Edwyn Collins, who has aphasia, is donating the profits of his latest single release to Connect

Edwyn Collins, former frontman of the group Orange Juice, is keen to raise awareness of aphasia. Edwyn had a cerebral haemorrhage in 2005 which left him with slow speech and difficulty expressing the words he is thinking.

Grace Maxwell, Edwyn's wife, is all too aware of the profound effect aphasia can have not just on the person with aphasia but friends and family too.

'The sudden loss of the ability to communicate and in many cases to absorb and understand language, to read and to write, is shocking,' says Grace. 'Learning to deal with it, fighting to regain whatever your potential will allow, finding happiness again in this changed landscape, these are the challenges. Connect understands this, as they understand that no two people with aphasia are the same. Connect is a refuge for people with aphasia, but its work in raising public awareness matters too'.

For further information visit www.ukconnect.org