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| Therapist researchers: | Rosemary Cunningham |
| Funder | The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia |
| Reasons for doing the research |
The investigation into conversational interaction in aphasia and its therapeutic implications has received much interest. It is increasingly accepted that people with aphasia cannot be treated in isolation but as part of a social unit. Training conversation partners has been shown to impact on the disabling effect of aphasia.
The principal aim of this study was to evaluate a programme designed to train a relative/friend to communicate more effectively with an aphasic partner. The intervention was assessed in terms of effects on communication and on well being.
| Method |
Four single case studies were completed. The people with aphasia had severe impairment affecting both comprehension and expression. Each couple completed various assessments:
- A conversation which was video taped
- The Visual assessment for Self Esteem Scale (VASES)
- The Hospitals Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). (Communication partners only)
The training programme ran for five weeks (1.5 hours/week) at the couples' homes. It included education, video feedback and role-play. The initial assessments were repeated post-intervention.
| Results |
Conversation data were subject to a conversation analysis as well as frequency counts of nonverbal behaviours. We found positive individual changes and positive trends: three of the four dyads increased their use of gesture and the proportion of successful repair sequences increased post-intervention, although these changes were not statistically significant. There were no significant differences for the HADS but there were differences between the people with aphasia and their communication partners on the VASES. This appeared to be due to difficulties for the people with aphasia understanding that the pictures on the assessment illustrated feelings they might have themselves.
| Conclusions |
The positive trends suggest that working with couples can produce beneficial effects. Future research may help establish who will benefit from this approach and the optimal number of sessions.
| References |
Cunningham R. & Ward C. (2003) Evaluation of a training programme to facilitate conversation between people with aphasia and their carers. Aphasiology 17 (8): 687-707.