Carl McIntyre

Carl McIntyre is a well known and beloved actor throughout the southeastern theater and production communities.

On September 15, 2005 Carl suffered a severe stroke.

Immediately following the stroke, Carl was virtually unable to speak, a condition known as Aphasia. He also suffered from coordination difficulties.

Like many stroke survivors, Carl was told that his recovery would plateau between six months and a year and a half. After this 18 month threshold, little new progress should be expected.

This turned out to not be the case. Nearly eight years since his stroke, Carl continues to make significant improvement. Exhaustive speech and occupational therapy have helped him regain his ability to speak, though he still has difficulty with sentences longer than a few words. His vocabulary has improved dramatically, and his coordination is almost to the level it was pre-stroke.

Best of all, Carl’s cognitive abilities are largely intact. His memory and his reasoning skills are both very strong.

In 2008, Carl began making presentations to Speech-Language Pathology classes about his experiences during the stroke and his subsequent recovery process. These engaging presentations also examine Carl’s technique of picture association which enables  him to remember specific words.

It is the success of these presentations which sparked the idea for the film project and the development of other presentations.

The success of the film Aphasia has led to Carl’s new career as a motivational speaker. He has captivated audiences across the globe with his inspiring story.

“Aphasia” the movie is currently on tour as part of Carl McIntyre’s hour-long presentation, Hope is a Four Letter Word.

The 40-minute film is followed by a humorous and moving presentation in which Carl explains the process of coming to terms with his condition and making positive and inspired decisions about his new life.