Help a stroke survivor regain speaking/reading skills

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ConnectOne matches adults with a community volunteer who can help them thrive.

We have an IT professional who is looking for some help as he regains his speaking, reading, and computer skills after several strokes. We are asking for a volunteer to meet with him via video (Zoom or similar) for at least 1 hour per week for at least 8 months.

A full description is here:

https://www.connectonebayarea.org/offer-help/find-a-learner/TJ/

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These are his details:
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Name: TJ
Seeking: Help in rebuilding speech skills as part of stroke recovery

Communication preference: Video - Zoom or similar
Estimated sessions: 1 hour / week for 8 months (or longer if volunteer is able)
Available (PST): Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat: 2am-4pm | Thurs: 7am-4pm | Sun: 2pm-4pm

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TJ is looking for a patient volunteer who can help him regain conversation & reading skills after having 7 strokes over 5 years ago.
The volunteer should be an excellent listener, and able to work with TJ on one or some of the following:

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1) Have general conversation, with emphasis on promoting conversation, encouraging TJ to speak, and correcting him as needed
2) Listen to him read and help him comprehend the material

Additionally, TJ is working on some specific skill sets. If the volunteer is able to help in these areas, they provide further opportunities to help him.
However, these are not requirements:

- Computer-related skills, including MS Word and Excel
- Basic website development
- Basic math & accounting fundamentals
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He has been working with 4-5 separate volunteers for the past 4 years. Each volunteer has found their own niche to help TJ in the best way possible, and we hope to find another volunteer who can do the same. TJ has shown tremendous improvement over these years, and an additional volunteer will help continue this momentum. He (and his wife) has much appreciation for his volunteers!

More details:

Prior to his strokes, which were due to a rare cerebrovascular disorder, TJ worked in IT at several schools in San Francisco. He came to the U.S. from Indonesia and received his computer engineering degree here.

He is a pleasure to work with. He speaks confidently and proactively, but he needs to repeat or search for the right words and/or sounds due to his speech recovery. Likewise, he listens and comprehends quite proficiently, but will sometimes need help understanding.

His speech was severely limited following his strokes, but has progressed significantly over the last few years. Initially, he was unable to count from 1-10. Now, he can speak English words up to 4 syllables. He has progressed a bit more speaking Indonesian, since he can practice often with relatives. He hopes to continue his English progress with his volunteers.

He is extremely motivated to continue his improvement - and not only for himself. He is developing a website with resources to help other stroke survivors regain speech and other fundamental abilities. This has been a driver in his desire to regain his computer and technology skills.

Please let us know if you are interested in helping. We will request a short video call to discuss and answer any questions before setting up a first meeting with TJ.

Thank you for considering!