Tessa Ackerman is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years clinical experience working with adults with aphasia and other acquired disorders of communication. She studied at the University of Leeds, Leeds Polytechnic and the University of York, including postgraduate research on perseveration in aphasia. She has taught undergraduate and postgraduate speech and language therapy students in hospitals, clinics and at universities in the UK. She worked for the NHS for 21 years, including leading a rehabilitation team. For the past 14 years she has worked as an independent speech and language therapist and director of ACT for Yorkshire Ltd. and continues to work with people with aphasia.