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Brain FriendsAuthor: Dr. D. Seles Gadson and Angie Cauthorn
Brain Friends: The Podcast is a global space for stroke, science, and equity. Hosted by Angie Cauthorn two-time stroke survivor and unapologetic aphasia advocate this show unpacks the cognitive, behavioral and communication disorders that follow stroke, and the systems that shape recovery.This podcast began with my friend and co-host, Dr. D. Seles Gadson a brilliant neuroscientist, speech-language pathologist, and fearless champion for equity in healthcare. Her work focused on health disparities in aphasia care, particularly within the Black community, and she believed deeply in making science accessible for all. I carry her legacy forward in every conversation.There are no survivor interviews here. Instead, we focus on the research, the roadblocks, and the real work of making neurorehabilitation more equitable, inclusive, and understood especially for people with aphasia.Our listeners span over 80 countries and include speech-language pathology professionals, researchers, and people with aphasia who want more than inspiration they want information that matters.If you're here to rethink recovery, reimagine access, and stay grounded in the science you're in the right place. Welcome to Brain Friends. Language: en-us Genres: Education, Life Sciences, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Memories of Seles 5/24/82 - 1/11/25 raise a glass.
Episode 5
Sunday, 11 January, 2026
Send us a textA friendship became a movement when a survivor searching for culturally competent therapy met a clinician who refused to treat equity like an optional add-on. What started as a phone call turned into Brain Friends—a space where lived experience and rigorous science work side by side to make aphasia, stroke recovery, and neuroplasticity feel human, practical, and possible.We walk through the real story: how instant respect turned into a partnership, how roles formed—one voice translating from the trenches, the other anchoring with research—and how that rhythm made complex ideas usable for families, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers. Then the pivot no one wanted: sudden loss. Grief shows up as silence, stalled projects, and episodes too tender to edit. Naming that pain opens a path forward. “Progress over perfection” becomes more than a motto; it’s a care strategy for speech attempts, therapy homework, and the messy edits that stay in the final cut to normalize real recovery.Legacy grounds the work. We highlight the scholarship honoring Dr.Seles Gadson, designed to fund equity-centered clinicians and researchers who center patient-reported outcomes and culturally responsive care. Scholarships don’t run on vibes, and support here turns memory into infrastructure—training, mentorship, and research that actually changes lives. Along the way, we talk about trust in healthcare, the realities Black women face in brain health systems, and why clear, simple language outperforms jargon when the brain is tired and the heart is full.We close with gratitude for a new advocacy award that carries responsibility, an audio message that still lights the room, and a promise to keep showing up for survivors, caregivers, and the professionals who serve them. If this resonates, share it with someone who needs hope they can use, and help sustain the scholarship that keeps this legacy working. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us how you’re choosing progress over perfection today.www.aphasiaadvocates.com for Brain Friends Merch https://www.cognitiverecoverylab.com/seles https://aphasia.org/stories/announcing-the-davetrina-seles-gadson-health-equity-grant-program/ Our beloved colleague, Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson, passed away January 11, 2025. Dr. Gadson was an extraordinary speech-language pathologist and neuroscience researcher who devoted her energy to studying health disparities in aphasia recovery. She was a fierce advocate for improving services for individuals with aphasia, particularly Black Americans. Her research transformed our understanding of these health disparities and shed light on how we can address them. We were privileged to have Dr. Gadson as a cherished member of our lab community for four years, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an Instructor of Rehabilitation Medicine. She was still a close collaborator and friend to many of us at the time of her passing. Dr. Gadson was an incredible person—compassionate, inspiring, and full of life. Her dedication to advancing equity in aphasia recovery and her profound impact on our community will never be forgotten. We are committed to honoring her memory by continuing to push our field forward and fight for equitable services for all people with aphasia.
