Temple University’s College of Health Professions recently held a talent show unlike any other. Sure, there was the customary song-singing and joke-telling, but each note and syllable the performers uttered took all the effort they could muster. That’s because each participant has aphasia, a disorder that affects the ability to form and comprehend language. The National Aphasia Association estimates some one million people in the U.S. live with the condition.

“Typically a stroke or some kind of traumatic brain injury causes aphasia, says Francine Kohen, M.S., CCC-SLP, research associate at the Eleanor M.Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “That impairs the ability to speak, listen, read or write, so communicating is very difficult.”

That’s what made the first ever Aphasia Talent Show so special. The seven performers have been meeting as a therapy group for two years at Temple, so they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s Bill, the emcee, who had a stroke 17 years ago and yet read a script through the hour-long program, and Bernedette, who finds it hard to speak but sang a gospel hymn with ease. Then there’s Edythe, who recited a poem. It was a favorite hobby of hers before her stroke, but the first time she’s written poetry since being diagnosed with aphasia.

So, while singing a song or telling a one-liner might seem like an ordinary talent, for this group, it was extraordinary. George, a minister, summed it up best as he delivered a rousing sermon based on the Bible, Psalm 23, likening their performances to “coming out of the valley of deep darkness.”

“It takes lots of therapy and patience to improve their communications skills,” says Kohen. “In fact, one of these performers has been in therapy for 17 years. They never give up on themselves.”

Now that’s talent.