https://alliedhealth.ouhsc.edu/Research Parent Page: Research id: 36270 Active Page: Communication and Aphasia Research Lab id: 36334 Portal ID: 244

Communication and Aphasia Research Lab (CAR)

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to speak, understand speech, read, and write. It results most commonly from stroke, but can also occur from brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, or other neurological conditions. Aphasia does not affect intelligence only the ability to access language. Over 2 million people in the United States have aphasia, and approximately 180,000 Americans acquire aphasia each year.

When Aphasia Doesn't Go Away: Some Thoughts on Living With It
by Audrey Holland on June 23, 2010

You had a stroke and became aphasic about 6-8 months or more. You have done everything that rehab specialists have asked you to do. You have gotten much better, probably more than you can recognize, but you still have aphasia. Now what?

Never ever give up
Nobody WANTS aphasia. But there it is. It is easier to get better if you take the first step… figure out that it  won't  go away easily. This means acknowledging that it is IN YOUR LIFE. Try thinking, "I have aphasia.  It sucks, but I have it!"  Then you can  take the next BIG step—moving on.  It might  seem odd, but acknowledgment and acceptance actually put aphasia in its place.  It really does.

Acknowledgment is active. It permits YOU to be the boss of YOU instead of letting APHASIA be the boss of YOU! And then you can choose to move on (or not if you choose). For some people, moving on might mean:

  1. Stopping the fight for words, and beginning to learn strategies for getting around the fight
  2. Noticing again all the good things that are still in your life
  3. Picking up a new skill or hobby, like painting, that helps you forget about the aphasia for a little while
  4. Spending more time with the grandkids who probably don't even pay any attention to aphasia and love you just as hard as ever.
  5. Getting over mourning your losses. (It's a new you! You can get Handicapped Parking!)
  6. Continuing to seek improvement in your speech and language. But now you should be able to see that small changes are victories; You don't have to wait for the return of language before you can celebrate!

I believe strongly in never giving up. But I also believe in living each day for itself, and if aphasia is in the picture, that means giving it respect, and moving on. This is the first step in living successfully with aphasia! CAN YOU TAKE THIS STEP?

Resources for Aphasia

12 Strategies for Successful Conversation with a Person Who Has Aphasia:
Let's face it: Communication can be a tough task for everyone when aphasia is part of the equation. The following 12 communication strategies come from the communication approach called Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (Kagan, 1998). Instead of allowing both sides to become frustrated, impatient, and defeated, a good communication partner can implement these 12 strategies for a more productive and satisfying exchange with your client with aphasia.

Helping the PWA Understand YOUR Message:
As a communication partner, try these SIX strategies when you are trying to help the PWA understand your message:
- Use short, simple sentences in a normal tone of voice
- Use gestures and body language to help convey your message
- Write down keywords or topics, so that you can both see them
- Use pictures or drawings to share an idea, working with one picture/image at a time
- Reduce distractions and external stimulation, including noises, other people, or multiple visual materials
- Look at the person's facial expressions, eye gaze, body posture, and gestures to determine his/her level of comprehension

Helping the PWA Communicate THEIR Message:
As a communication partner, try these SIX strategies when you are trying to help the PWA communicate their message:
- Ask "yes or no" questions
- When asking a series of "yes or no" questions, start with general ones and work your way to more specific
- Ask one question at a time
- Ask questions that already contain an answer or a choice of answers such as, "Do you want tea or coffee?"
- Ask him/her to gesture, point to objects or pictures, or write keywords, such as "Can you draw/write/show me what you mean?"
- Give him/her adequate time to respond without your interrupting

Materials adapted from: aphasia.ca/communicative-access-sca
For more information on aphasia, caregiving, and tools to help your clients with aphasia, visit aacdevice.com

Websites for Persons with Aphasia and Their Families:
• National Aphasia Association
• Aphasia Institute
• Lingraphica – Virtual Connections
• Adler Aphasia Center
• Houston Aphasia Recovery Center

Find Local Support:
• Allied Health Keys Clinic
• Bob McVay Aphasia Support Group
• Jim Thorpe Outpatient Rehabilitation Southwest
• Citywide Stroke Support Group
• OU Health Aphasia Support Group

Guide to Getting on With the Rest of Your Life After Stroke
A Guide for Stroke Caregivers
The Aphasia Caregiver Guide

Publications

  • Tetnowski, J.A., Hughes, C., & Tetnowski, J.T. (In Press). Making the case for case studies. Perspectives of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Special Interest Groups.
     
  • Tetnowski, J. T., Tetnowski, J. A., & Damico, J. S. (2023). Looking at gesture: The reciprocal influence between gesture and conversation. Journal of Communication Disorders, 106, 106379.
     
  • Tetnowski, J.T., Tetnowski, & J.A., Damico, J.S. (2021). Patterns of conversation trouble source and repair as indices of improved conversation in aphasia: A multiple case study using conversation analysis (CA). American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-18. DOI: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00100
     
  • Archer, B., Azios, J. H., Gulick, N., & Tetnowski, J. (2020). Facilitating participation in conversation groups for aphasia. Aphasiology, 1-19.DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2020.1812030 
     
  • Archer, B., Azios, J., Tetnowski, J., Damico, J., Freer, J., Schmadeke, S., Christou-Franklin, E. (2019). Key wording practices in three aphasia conversation groups: a preliminary study. Aphasiology, DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2019.1630596
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019). Radiation therapy and communication disorders.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage DOI:  10.4135/9781483380810.n505
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019).Depression.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage DOI: 10.4135/9781483380810.n185
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019). Group Treatment.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage. DOI: 10.4135/9781483380810.n278
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019). Kinesics.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage DOI: 10.4135/9781483380810.n327 
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019). Proxemics.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage  DOI: 10.4135/9781483380810.n488 
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2019). Gaze.  In Jack S. Damico & Martin J. Ball (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders.  London: Sage. DOI: 10.4135/9781483380810.n268
     
  • Archer, B., Tetnowski, J., Freer, J., Schmadeke, S., & Christou-Franklin, E. (2018). Topic selection sequences in aphasia conversation groups. Aphasiology, 394-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2017.1413705
     
  • Tetnowski, J. (2015). Qualitative Case Study Research Design. SIG 4 Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders, 25(1), 39-45
    https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/ffd25.1.39
     
  • Damico, J., Tetnowski, J.T., Lynch, K., Hartwell, J., Weill, C. Heels, J., & Simmons-Mackie, N.  (2015). Facilitating authentic conversation: An intervention employing principles of constructivism and conversation analysis.  Aphasiology, 29 (3), 400-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2014.945388

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