Communication After Brain Injury: Headway MK

Imagine not being able to say what you need. Not being able to tell someone you’re in pain, or order a coffee, or answer the phone to your friend. After a brain injury or stroke, this is the reality for many people in Milton Keynes.

Headway MK supports adults and their families with rehabilitation services designed to improve lives after a brain injury. At the time, Headway was already running a small communication group, but the demand for support was growing.

In just two months, it received 10 referrals from people needing support with communication, more than the group could accommodate. NHS speech and language services can only work with people for a limited time, but many people need that ongoing support to help maintain and build on the progress they’ve made.

With this clear need in mind, Headway received a £6,000 Sapling Grant from MK Community Foundation and launched two weekly ‘Confident Communications Groups’—each tailored to support two different levels of need.

The Project

The first group focused on people with very limited verbal communication. Each week started with facial movement exercises and singing warm-ups - as singing activates a different part of the brain and helps rebuild speech pathways. The group worked through relevant topics together, practising both verbal and non-verbal ways to communicate.

The second group supported people with higher communication ability, focusing on practical, everyday scenarios like making phone calls or going to appointments. Activities also worked on cognitive skills, which directly affect how well someone can communicate.

Each person was given a tailored workbook, with activities designed to support language and cognition at their own level and in line with their goals. Some people worked through these during sessions, while others took their activities home to practice with family. The workbooks included communication aids, letter and number boards, and handheld mirrors for practicing facial movements.

Each session began with individual worksheet time, then moved into group warm-ups and conversation practice. It was this predictability that reduced anxiety and helped people engage.

The Impact 

People who hadn't spoken for months started forming sentences. Others learned to follow conversations in different environments which was something that had felt impossible before.

One person joined the group after a stroke left them with almost no speech.

They could only make sounds like "oooh" and "du". They got a tailored workbook and started attending weekly sessions, working one-to-one with a peer mentor as well as in the group. Within six months, they were saying short words like "we", "the", "me".

Their family started using the workbook activities at home too, reiterating what they practiced in the group.

Group participants shared: "For the first time in nearly 12 months I feel I'm with people that are there for my well-being."

"It's been a fantastic opportunity for me to receive help and socialising when I most needed it."

A family member noticed the difference at home: "Her confidence has massively increased. I see changes every day in her speech. It also allows me to have some respite."

Beyond the Funding

Through the project, Headway discovered that structure is key, but that flexibility within that structure matters much more. Some people relied on written materials to support memory and understanding, while others gained most from the interactive, more physical elements like warm-ups and group conversation.

The tailored workbooks enabled participants to start each week by reflecting on achievements from the previous week gave people safety and predictability, especially in the early stages. And as people made progress, some were ready to move on.

The two groups have now merged into one larger group, with staff confident they can manage more people now that the framework is tested and the activities are built.

This project was funded through the generous support of the Margaret Powell Fund.