Abstract
This article aims to analyse characteristics of collective and authentic literacy practices within a group of people with aphasia attending an aphasia course at a Swedish folk high school. The group included 12 individuals with aphasia who were studied during a period of 3 weeks. Ethnographic data consists of video and audio recordings, photos and field notes. Two main characteristics of the literacy practices were identified: digital screens dominated and bridged the online/offline boundary, and shared knowledge enabled the participants to co-create literacy. The literacy practices were emancipatory, because they provided ways for the participants to un-mask their inherent competence, increasing their agency. When the use of digital technology transforms a (formerly non-literacy) practice into a multimodal literacy practice, and when an individual with aphasia becomes part of a literacy co-creation practice, the disability (understood as a relation between individual and environmental characteristics) caused by aphasia is reduced.
Highlights
This article reports findings from an ethnographic study about literacy practices within a group of people with aphasia attending a Swedish folk high school (FIN 2016) aphasia course designed to provide an opportunity to improve abilities to engage in social interaction
Setting and participants The group consisted of 12 people enrolled in an aphasia course at a Swedish folk high school
To conclude, the collective and authentic literacy practices of the studied group were mainly characterised by the domination of digital screens and the online multimodal resources provided through them and the co-creation of literacy in which group members utilised each other’s abilities to compensate for their own difficulties
Summary
This article reports findings from an ethnographic study about literacy practices within a group of people with aphasia (i.e., communicative difficulties caused by a brain injury, such as stroke) attending a Swedish folk high school (FIN 2016) aphasia course designed to provide an opportunity to improve abilities to engage in social interaction. Kagan and Simmons-Mackie (2013) define aphasia as a language problem that masks inherent competence and most dramatically affects conversational interaction (talking and understanding), as well as the ability to read and write.As highlighted in this definition, aphasia entails being unable to express competence. Kagan and Simmons-Mackie (2013) define aphasia as a language problem that masks inherent competence and most dramatically affects conversational interaction (talking and understanding), as well as the ability to read and write. Aphasia entails being unable to express competence. It is still there (it is inherent), but it is masked by linguistic difficulties. This masked competence may be understood in terms of a reduced ‘capacity to act’, i.e., reduced agency (Brockmeier 2009). People with aphasia often struggle with an identity dilemma of agency (Bamberg 2011). It affects the ability to read and write i.e., literacy skills
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