The Aphasia Center is a service delivery model that provides an interactive community for persons with aphasia. This model has been increasing in popularity over the last 20 years. Aphasia Centers are consistent with a social model of health care and disability. They offer the potential for linguistic, communicative, and psychosocial benefits. The…

Clinical borderlands manifest themselves through encounters between people deemed to be in need of health care and health care providers (Mattingly, 2010). This article addresses the problem of inherent asymmetry in the clinical discourse between clinical providers, such as speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and persons with aphasia.…

Patient-centered care is extending the sphere of health care beyond the patient, focusing attention upon the family caregiver(s). In this context, patient-family relationships are at the center of consistent, well-developed interprofessional interventions that encompass caregiver education, training, and wellness. Cohort models of intervention…

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with adults with cognitive-linguistic impairments, including aphasia, have long needed an assessment tool that predicts ability to function in the real world. In this article, it is argued that virtual reality (VR)-supported approaches can address this need. Using models of disability such as the…

Cooperative group treatment for aphasia based on cooperative learning principles is designed to improve communication skills during small, two-member group interactions. The treatment involves teamwork incorporating positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual accountability, and group processing. Group size, treatment…