Purpose: This article characterizes graduate student clinicians' (GSCs') understanding of their roles as stakeholders in clinical implementation and research before participating in an intensive comprehensive aphasia program (ICAP). Method: Seven GSCs participated in a pre-ICAP intervention focus group to characterize their perceived roles in…

There is a need for intervention to support friendship for people living with aphasia. The purpose of this article is to describe a stakeholder engagement process that involved researchers, clinicians, people living with aphasia, and care partners to inform such intervention. Through reflection and firsthand accounts of non-university-based…

Purpose: To evaluate whether levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, predicted response to intensive speech-language intervention for individuals with chronic aphasia (IWA). Secondary analyses explored baseline cortisol levels, change following intervention, association between cortisol levels and aphasia severity, self-reported…

Visual scene displays (VSDs) are becoming an increasingly popular method of message representation within augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports; however, design factors can influence the effectiveness of these images as communication supports. One issue that has come to light in recent years is the fact that selecting…

Speech-language pathologists serving individuals with aphasia must make many decisions regarding assessment and intervention practices to support comprehension and expression of language. Each of these decisions can influence the effectiveness of therapy and long-term functional outcomes for individuals with aphasia. One factor that must be…

When people with aphasia have difculty communicating, there is a risk for miscommunication and negative outcomes related to medical care and safety (Blacksone, Beukelman, & Yorkson, 2015). This risk can be reduced by ensuring that each person with aphasia can communicate efectively when using diferent types of discourse and at diferent points…

Flow has been described as positive experiences of intense concentration, distorted time passage, and a loss of self-consciousness that result from matching task difficulty to a person's skill level. It has been studied in many different populations and has been associated with a number of positive outcomes, including improved life satisfaction…

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…

Purpose: A primary goal of aphasia intervention is to improve everyday communication. Although a large body of research focuses on treatment generalization, transfer of learning to real-world interactions involving discourse does not always occur. The goal of an integrated discourse treatment for aphasia (IDTA) approach is to facilitate such…

Emerging policy in South Africa has had a marked impact on delivery of service by speech-language pathologists, particularly in the field of aphasia. This article describes major policy influences in the areas of language use, health, education, disability, and the elderly, which have had an impact on service delivery. Aphasia assessment and…

The current trend of the WHO that suggests that aphasia assessment and intervention strategies should be directly influenced by outcome goals related to life participation is presented.

The article describes an approach to aphasia description and intervention based on analysis of speech pauses and hesitations. The concepts of pause, planning, and paraphasia (a language production error involving substitution or replacement) are distinguished. Three case studies illustrate application of the technique. (DB)

A qualitative study of group therapy for aphasia was undertaken in order to discover interaction patterns and discourse management strategies that help define "social" or "conversation" group therapy for aphasia. Specifically, an analysis of the discourse of clients and therapists was conducted to identify patterns across therapists and settings.…

This article discusses identity as it relates to aphasia and the resulting impact on life participation. The relationships among social identity, language, and social interaction are considered from the sociocultural perspective. Core social identity concepts are identified and used to examine the broad classifications of aphasia intervention.…