Communication Partners Research Articles

A qualitative pilot study of adult AAC users’ experiences related to accessing and receiving mental health services

There is currently limited research related to mental health supports for individuals who use AAC, particularly about the actual lived experiences of AAC users who receive mental health services. There may be alterations to mental health services for individuals who use AAC. The aim of this study was to gain the perspectives of AAC users on accessing and receiving mental health services. Three participants who used AAC and received mental health services shared their experiences related to receiving mental health services. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach in which themes were based on participants’ experiences. Five major themes were generated: (a) Time, (b) Communication Partner Skills, (c) Advocacy, (d) Means of Expression, and (e) Diagnosis. Participants described factors that positively or negatively impacted their experiences. Participant experiences were examined in light of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems model. The findings of this study provide insights into the perspectives of individuals who use AAC in accessing mental health services, uncovering various barriers and facilitators within the patient–psychotherapist microsystem. Factors such as time constraints, communication partner skills, advocacy, means of expression, and diagnosis-related challenges significantly influenced the quality of interaction between patients using AAC and their mental health provider. The study also reveals the broader impacts of AAC on interactions within the meso-, exo-, and macro-systems, suggesting the need for improved involvement of speech-language pathologists and policy changes to support effective communication and accessibility for individuals using AAC in mental health settings. Ultimately, future research should involve participants of varying ages, diagnoses, and backgrounds and should include a variety of stakeholders.

Conversation coaching in dementia: a feasibility study.

Conversation abilities of people with dementia are impacted by cognitive-communication deficits. Communication interventions can improve quality of life by increasing positive interactions and well-being. This study evaluates the feasibility of a conversation coaching intervention for people with dementia and their communication partners. A mixed-method design was used. Thirty-four people were recruited over 12months; 17 people with dementia and 17 communication partners. Participants with dementia were aged between 62 and 79years (8 females, 9 males) and the communication partners were aged 33-77years (5 males, 12 females). This conversation coaching intervention involved two assessment sessions (pre and post intervention) and 6 weekly sessions, alternating between individual and group-based sessions. These were facilitated by two experienced speech and language therapists with a three-month follow-up period. Participants were assessed initially and three months following intervention using Profiling Communication Ability in Dementia (P-CAD), Goal Attainment Scaling, and Capability Index for Older people (ICECAP-O). Twenty-eight participants completed the conversation coaching intervention. P-CAD scores for people with dementia were maintained at three months for 71% (n = 10) showing no decline in function and 29% (n = 4) showed improvement. Using the Goal Attainment Scaling, all people with dementia and their communication partners reported that this conversation coaching intervention helped them achieve their individual communication goals. Ten (71%) people with dementia rated their well-being as higher on the ICE-CAP-O following intervention with 29% (n = 4) rating no change in well-being from initial assessment. Over three-quarters of communication partners, (79%: n = 11), reported an increased sense of well-being following intervention and 21% (n = 3) had no change in well-being. Preliminary outcomes including participant feedback indicate that this conversation coaching intervention is feasible for people with dementia. The communication function and well-being of people with dementia were either maintained or improved. Conversation coaching intervention is collaborative and enhances the retained communication abilities of people living with dementia.

“It's not just what we say or do, but how we say and do it”

Infant-directed speech (IDS) and infant-directed actions (IDA) represent specific behavioural modifications of adults when they communicate with infants and young children. Infant-directed modifications (IDMs) have specific behavioural representations marked by high positive affection, greater expressiveness, simplification, and increased repetition. Both IDS and IDA appear as part of the same larger behavioural system of IDMs. However, so far, studies have analysed the features and functions of these behaviours separately. Compared to adult-directed speech, IDS is characterised by longer pauses, a slower tempo, more prosodic repetition, higher fundamental frequency, longer vowels, repetitive intonation structures, and greater melodiousness. In IDA, compared to adult-directed actions, the amplitude of movements, simplification, and number of repetitions tend to increase as the distance between communication partners decrease. In this review, we draw a parallel between IDS and IDA to show that adults change both their speech and actions in similar ways and that both actions and speech change depending on the infant’s age and/or developmental stage. We discuss possible (biological) mechanisms that elicit the use of IDS and IDA and argue that this specific type of adult behaviour has a unique impact on how infants perceive and process information. Insights on biological, behavioural, and functional aspects of IDMs could provide a new perspective on the importance of early interactions and knowledge acquisition in both typically developing children and those with developmental disorders.

BRIDGING CULTURES: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR JAKARTA PRACTITIONERS

This research aims to describe how public relations practitioners apply intercultural communication competence, who have worked in government institutions, mass media, hospitality, and other organizations with a diversity of ethnic and cultural members, and also should have specific competence to solve their problem communication in all daily activities. This research is based on an intercultural communication perspective, and interpersonal competence of public relations, with the research method being a case study, interviewing technique for gathering data, and qualitative descriptive analysis.Five key informants invited with different background organizations described that they have worked in public relations functions and follow the mechanism of intercultural communication competencies, such as motivation to communicate, sufficient knowledge of culture, appropriate communication skills, sensitivity, and character. The research result describes five competencies that have applied in their professional communication activities, especially building good relationships, mapping cultural background, having a high motivation to communicate with others, practicing relevant communication when they encounter several difficulties, then always trying to understand the psychology of others when they start to communicate, in formal or informal situation. Then, in the process of anticipating so as not to experience frustration or culture shock with communication partners from different cultures, the speakers also made adaptations, making relevant adjustments, based on the current situation, in the form of speaking in general, discussing local products, discussing the latest issues. and optimize social media. It becomes a medium to reduce the inconvenience of communicating due to differences in culture and background.

COMPAS: AN APP TO PROMOTE PERSON-CENTERED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CAREGIVERS

Abstract Introduction People living with dementia (PWD) experience communication deficits as soon as the early stages of the diseases, deficits which significantly increase over time. In the last stages, constant communication breakdowns lead to reduced exchanges with caregivers, resulting in the isolation of both communication partners. These difficulties have negative impacts on the quality of life of PWD and their caregivers, who themselves face increasing burden. While communication difficulties in PWD are a core issue in care, few interventions to address this issue have been developed. Aims: The present study focused on COMPAs, an app designed to sustain communication between PWD and their caregivers. COMPAS has been shown to trigger emotional communication during the short co-viewing of personalized audiovisual material. Method: This was a pre-post intervention study with COMPAs in 2 long-term care centers. Seventeen caregivers used COMPAs in the context of daily routines over eight weeks with seventeen PWD. Data collection included specific questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to measure effects on communication and caregiver burden. Data analyses combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results In caregivers, there was a significant improvement in personal achievement at work. Semi-structured interviews showed an improvement in communication in the dyad and a more empathetic approach to caregiving. Discussion These results indicate that the communication triggered by COMPAs breaks down communication barriers, by creating positive exchanges through personalized emotionally driven exchanges, while stimulating empathy and personalized interventions. Caregivers see COMPAs as an ecological tool to address communication barriers, while facilitating an empathetic caregiving relationship.

Parents' Perspectives of Augmentative and Alternative Communication: From Assessment to Implementation

Purpose: Parents are known to be effective communication partners in their children's augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention. This study aimed to better understand the parent perspective in the AAC acquisition, implementation, and handing processes across various primary disability labels and ages. Method: Twenty-two parents of children who use AAC engaged in phone interviews to discuss their family's experiences with AAC obtainment and intervention. A thematic analysis of the interview data was conducted. Results: The following five themes emerged: assessment procedures, early recommendations for AAC, external variables that influence device access, supports and barriers parents face when navigating AAC use with their child, and what participants would do differently. Further subthemes were also established to categorize parent responses. Conclusions: Findings support the inclusion of family-centered care for children with complex communication needs who use AAC. Parent responses indicate a greater need for interprofessional communication between children's team members and their family to provide comprehensive support. Parents also emphasized a desire to introduce AAC earlier into their family.

Discursive designing of autobiographical memories in speech ontogeny: Longitudinal survey

Autobiographical memories have been investigated, experimentally rather than in real interactional settings. This study explores the role of language in mental processes through the linguistic explication of memories in discursive practices in early ontogenesis. It considers the ways and means of early oral memories evolvement in the interdisciplinary paradigm. The goal is to identify the mechanism of early discourse formation in recalls. The data were collected from the multimedia corpus CHILDES Transcript Browser with speech transcripts of German-speaking children from three to seven years old and were subjected to communicative, pragmatic, cognitive and discursive analyses. Adults’ verbal discursive strategies and tactics were examined to explicate the mnemonic content of children’s narratives. We identified the pragmatic orientation of stimulating statements of adults and described the linguistic features of a child’s mnemonic utterances. It has been found that the main discursive strategies of adults prompting children are: the strategy of discursive socialization, the strategy of dialogic narrative with its further transformation into a mnemonic narrative and information extraction from memory. As a result, the psycholinguistic (verbal) model of the ontogenetic generalization of childhood memories typical for German-speaking communication partners was developed. The model includes six stages according to the age of a preschooler. It displays the evolution of the surface structure of mnemonic utterances-recollections, which make up the framework of primary autobiographical narrations. This research fills in the niches in discourse studies, in ontogenesis and in the primary and secondary text models. The findings may have practical application in corpus and empirical studies.

Evaluation and modification of the 10‐item short form Communicative Participation Item Bank for persons with primary progressive aphasia

AbstractBackgroundPrimary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a dementia syndrome characterized by language and communication impairments with relative sparing of other cognitive domains. Given the language difficulties associated with PPA, it is important to develop outcome measures relevant to the communication experiences of persons with PPA (PwPPA). The 10‐item Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) has been used as a measure of communication participation in PPA. However, the CPIB was validated as a disorder‐agnostic measure of communication participation and the content validity has not been evaluated for PPA. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the face and content validity of the 10‐item CPIB for individuals with PPA and their communication partners (CP).MethodPhase one of this project focused on conducting cognitive interviews with participants who had previously completed the CPIB during the Communication Bridge randomized controlled trial (NCT03371706). PwPPAs and CPs each completed the CPIB during a semi‐structured cognitive interview designed to evaluate the measure format, instructions, response options, item comprehension, and relevance of each item to PwPPA experiences. To evaluate content validity, participants were asked open‐ended questions to elicit relevant communication participation experiences missing from the questionnaire. Responses to closed‐ended questions (e.g., clarity, relevance) were tabulated and open‐ended responses (e.g., item comprehension, missing content) were analyzed via thematic analysis. Summaries of measure format, instructions, and response options were generated, as well as item‐level findings regarding comprehension, relevance, and missing content.ResultPreliminary findings revealed both PwPPAs and CPs: a) considered the instructions to be clear (N = 12, 100%); b) recommended adding a fifth response option (e.g., “Somewhat) to better represent the range of communication situations; c) reported all items except one (“persuade…to see a different point of view”) were relevant (N≥10; ≥83%, for 9 items); and d) talking on the phone was the most reported missing communicative participation situation (N = 8; 66%). Further, 2 of 5 PwPPAs reported talking over videochat, and 2 of 5 CPs reported email/texting as missing.ConclusionPreliminary findings indicate that modifications to the 10‐item CPIB short form may be needed for use with PwPPA and their CPs to more fulsomely capture communication participation in PPA.

Fathers' unmodulated prosody in child-directed speech.

Mothers and fathers modify prosodic characteristics of child-directed speech relative to adult-directed speech. Evidence suggests that mothers and fathers may differ in how they use child-directed speech as communicative partners. Thus, fathers create communicative challenges during father-child interaction that facilitate the child's adaptation to a wider potential range of interlocutors. In this paper, speech production differences are examined between mothers and fathers in child-directed speech to toddlers as compared to adult-directed speech. Using a longitudinal, large-scale design of audio recordings in naturalistic environments and automatic speech processing techniques, it was found that mothers, but not fathers, increased their fundamental frequency when addressing their toddlers. The results suggest that fathers do not modulate the prosody of their speech in the same way as mothers when communicating with their toddlers. Findings have implications for emotional and communicative practices of fathers compared to mothers and the differential role each plays in child development.

Development of a framework capturing the interactions of people with dementia and their facilitators in virtual CST sessions: A proposal

AbstractBackgroundTelehealth has been gaining much attention, especially since the COVID‐19 pandemic. A virtual version of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), based on the conventional face‐to‐face CST (Spector et al., 2003), has been developed, with feasibility reported in Perkins et al. (2022). The present study proposes an analytic framework for capturing the verbal and nonverbal interactions of people with dementia (PwD) and their facilitators during virtual CST sessions delivered via tablet computers and video conferencing tool.MethodExisting models/frameworks for capturing verbal and nonverbal interactions of PwD and their communication partners were identified and evaluated. Quantifiable parameters/features which are observable/applicable to virtual CST sessions were incorporated into the new framework.ResultA newly proposed framework, primarily based on the conversation analysis (Perkins et al., 1998) of PwD and coding system of co‐verbal gestures of people with aphasia (Kong et al., 2015), has been developed. Issues specific to virtual delivery of CST have been considered and accommodated in the framework.ConclusionThe proposed framework will help researchers investigate and quantify the verbal and nonverbal interactions during virtual CST. Its potential in enhancing treatment outcomes, in terms of training of facilitators, and investigations of the relation between the behaviors of PwD during sessions and treatment gains in different aspects, will be discussed.

Effect of a communication partner training intervention on the use of graphic elements and frustration in a couple in which one member has severe aphasia

Effect of a communication partner training intervention on the use of graphic elements and frustration in a couple in which one member has severe aphasia

Do Adult Naïve Listeners Perceive Differences in Speech Before and After Therapy for Cleft Palate Speech Disorders? A Reliability Study of Perceptual Speech Ratings.

This study compared the interrater reliability of adult naïve listeners' perceptual assessments of different speech variables in children with a cleft palate with or without a cleft lip (CP ± L). In addition, the study investigated whether the listeners were able to perceive differences in these speech variables before and after speech therapy for cleft palate speech disorders. Thirty-four speech samples of 14 children with a CP ± L (14 samples collected immediately before 10 hr of speech intervention, 14 samples collected immediately after speech intervention, and six randomly selected samples that were duplicated to assess intrarater reliability) were perceptually assessed by 26 adult naïve listeners. The listening panel consisted of nine men and 17 women (age range: 18-51 years). The speech variables included speech understandability, speech acceptability, hypernasality, hyponasality, nasal airflow, and articulation, which were assessed on a visual analog scale. Furthermore, the need for speech therapy was assessed. Good to very good interrater reliability was observed for the naïve listeners' ratings of all speech variables. A significant time effect was found for the pre- and postevolution of the speech variables "speech understandability," "speech acceptability," "nasal airflow," and "articulation." This time effect indicates an improvement of these variables postintervention. According to the naïve listeners, children were less in need of additional speech therapy after the 10-hr intervention period compared to assessments before this intervention period. Adult naïve listeners perceptually identified an improvement in different speech variables after 10 hr of cleft palate speech therapy. These findings confirm previous assessments of expert speech-language pathologists and suggest that speech improvements after cleft palate speech therapy can also be perceived by communication partners outside the therapy room. Perceptual ratings of naïve listeners can, thus, be used to add life-situation significance to the assessments of experts. Future research could include both expert raters and caregivers or relatives of children with a CP ± L in listening panels, as previous knowledge on craniofacial anomalies may lead to different results.

Increasing linguistic and prelinguistic communication for social closeness during naturalistic AAC instruction with young children on the autism spectrum

This study examined the effects of an intervention package using high-tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with Naturalistic Instruction (NI), time delay, and prompting during social routines for preschoolers on the autism spectrum. The AAC was a communication application on a tablet programmed with color photo representations of participants and communication partners engaged in social routines. The primary dependent measure was a linguistic communication turn on the AAC device completing the instructor’s cloze phrase related to the routine. A secondary dependent measure was prelinguistic communication –nonspecific vocalizations and smiling – within each turn of the routine. Results indicated that all communication types increased and maintained for all three participants with two participants meeting mastery criteria within the minimal number of sessions. These results are significant in providing additional evidence for the effectiveness of AAC intervention beyond teaching simple object requests and in teaching more socially meaningful communication to children on the autism spectrum. Additionally, this study supports the use of color photo representations to promote social interaction. Future research should continue to evaluate such interventions on a larger scale and include naturally occurring communication partners, such as siblings and peers.

Toward a multilevel framework of multicommunicating: Insights from a systematic review

With the rise of smartphones, social media, and various digital communication platforms, multicommunicating (MC) has become prevalent, where individuals simultaneously engage in multiple communication tasks using information and communication technologies. However, the existing research on MC is fragmented and lacks a comprehensive understanding of its implications for and consequences on individuals and groups in various work, personal, and social contexts. This study proposes a multilevel framework to address these gaps and provides insights into the dynamics of MC at different levels: individual communicators, dyadic relationships, group dynamics, and the broader communication network. Through a systematic review of MC studies published in the last two decades, we identified trends in publication characteristics and research contexts. Existing research was conducted in educational, business, and social settings. Most studies focused on individual-level mechanisms and impacts, with findings indicating that MC negatively affects task performance, learning satisfaction, and psychological engagement. Additionally, our review examined the influence of MC on dyadic outcomes, such as social evaluation and communication partner satisfaction. Based on the review, we identified gaps and proposed future research directions to enhance our understanding of MC. By adopting a multilevel perspective, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of MC, encompassing individual-level processes, social dynamics, and even a few emerging network effects.

Understanding the experience of users of communication aids and applications through focus group discussions with people with aphasia and family members

The present study sought to identify the communication needs of persons with aphasia (PWA) and of their spouses, that could ultimately be addressed with current communication aids or applications (CA/A). Among users of CA/A we solicited their opinions and experiences with current CA/A. In contrast, among those not using CA/A, we explored why they did not use CA/A. A qualitative experiential research design was used through two in-person focus groups, one in English and one in French, at a large rehabilitation hospital in the Greater Montréal region (Canada). Participants' responses were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. The thematic analysis that ensued allowed the identification of four main themes. The first theme reflects participants' observations and experiences when communicating with aphasia. The second theme regrouped responses related to successful communication with the help of CA/A. The participants' challenges and dissatisfaction with CA/A were grouped into the third theme. Lastly, a fourth theme included participants' general views about CA/A and their wishes for further development. Participants' experience with communication difficulties following aphasia and the barriers and potential facilitators to adoption of CA/A were brought to the forefront. They also highlighted those features necessary to ensuring functional uptake of CA/A by those who would benefit from it. Finally, the importance of providing training to the communication partner and sensitizing the public to the impact of aphasia on people's daily lives and on the potential benefits of using CA/A were raised as necessary future actions.

Perceptions of Adults With Hearing Loss About the Communication Difficulties Generated by the COVID-19 Preventive Measures: A Qualitative Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of preventive measures that exacerbated communication difficulties for individuals with hearing loss. This study aims to explore the perception of adults with hearing loss about the communication difficulties caused by the preventive measures and about their experiences with communication 1 year after the adoption of these preventive measures. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted via videoconference with six adults who have hearing loss from the province of Québec, Canada. Data were examined using qualitative content analysis. The study found that face masks and in-person work (i.e., in opposition to remote work) were important barriers to communication because of hindered lipreading and competing noise in many workplaces. In contrast, preventive measures that allowed visual information transmission (e.g., transparent face masks, fixed plastic partitions) were considered favorable for communication. Communication partners were perceived as playing an important role in communication success with preventive measures: Familiar communication partners improved communication, whereas those with poor attitude or strategies hindered communication. Participants found that videoconferences could provide satisfactory communication but were sometimes hindered by issues such as bad audiovisual quality or too many participants. This study identified reduced access to speech reading and lack of general awareness about hearing issues as key barriers to communication during the pandemic. The decreased communication capabilities were perceived to be most problematic at work and during health appointments, and tended to cause frustration, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and social isolation. Suggestions are outlined for current and future public health measures to better consider the experience of people with hearing loss.

Examining the face threatening acts individuals with autism spectrum disorder experience and how they respond

Individuals who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) communicate differently than their neurotypical peers. Prior communication research on individuals with ASD has focused on how interventions can adapt the behaviors of those with ASD to be in line with neurotypical communication. This study treated the communication of individuals with ASD as a different, and valid, way of communicating, not something that needs intervening. We examined the face threats individuals with ASD experienced and the facework strategies they used in response. We found that individuals with ASD experienced (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) hybrid face threats. In response to these face threats, individuals with ASD used (a) preventive, (b) corrective, and (c) future facework. Additionally, communication partners enacted facework on the behalf of individuals with ASD using (a) corrective and (b) future facework strategies. Face theory assumes that face threats (FTAs) and facework strategies are related; using thematic co-occurrence analysis, this study offered empirical evidence that FTAs and facework occur in patterned ways alongside a variety of practical applications.

Communication and fear of recurrence in colorectal cancer survivors and their partners.

502 Background: Little is known about how colorectal (CRC) survivors and their partners communicate about cancer or about their fears of recurrence. CRC survivors who are discordant with their partner in communication about cancer and fear of recurrence may have worse health-related quality of life (HrQoL), but this is not known. Methods: From 2019-2020 we surveyed survivors of stage III CRC diagnosed 2014-2018 at an academic cancer center, a community oncology practice, and the Georgia cancer registry, and their domestic partners. We measured dyadic communication about cancer using the 23-item Lewis Mutuality and Interpersonal Sensitivity Scale (MIS). To measure fear of recurrence, we asked survivors and partners 3 questions about how often worry about recurrence has a negative psychosocial impact in their life. We measured survivors’ HrQoL using the PROMIS-29+2 profile, v 2.1. We used bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regressions to 1) compare paired survivor and partner responses to individual items about communication in the MIS and compare fear of recurrence scores, 2) describe characteristics of dyads who were discordant in communication and fear of recurrence, 3) assess associations between survivors’ HrQoL and discordance in communication and fear of recurrence. Results: 501/986 eligible survivors returned surveys (51% response rate). 428 survivors (86%) had a partner; 311 partners (73%) returned surveys. We analyzed data from 307 paired survivor-partner dyads. Survivors were mostly > age 50 (88%), male (64%), white (77%) and had at least some college education (77%). 6/23 MIS items (23%) evoked discordant responses in ≥30% of dyads (Table). Most dyads were concordant in responses to fear of recurrence questions. Greater dyadic discordance in communication and fear of recurrence was differentially associated (p<0.05) with some survivor factors and partner factors (communication: female survivor gender and greater partner education; recurrence: younger survivor age). Worse survivor HRQoL was associated with greater discordance in fear of recurrence (p<0.01) but not with discordance in communication (p=0.55). Conclusions: There is dyadic discordance in communication about negative feelings, sadness, and fear about the cancer. Dyadic discordance in fear of recurrence is associated with worse survivor HRQoL. Clinicians should be aware of and acknowledge negative feelings and fear during surveillance.[Table: see text]

Is Research on Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Reflected in the Clinical Practice of Speech-Language Pathologists?

Purpose: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have little to no functional speech require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Research on AAC intervention with individuals with ASD consistently indicates that teaching requesting skills has been the primary focus, with limited guidance on teaching social communication skills, despite the critical impact of these skills on language development. Furthermore, receptive language is typically not considered when measuring responsiveness to intervention. Thus, it is unclear how individuals with severely affected receptive language respond to current intervention techniques and whether these techniques support generalization of skills. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if clinical practice follows the patterns observed in the research literature and to learn more about how intervention techniques are impacting individuals in this population. Method: Thirteen practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were interviewed to describe AAC intervention with this population. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to analyze qualitative data and identify unique themes. Results: Seven primary themes emerged related to intervention targets, requesting, social communication, motivation, receptive language, perceived efficacy and challenges, and communication partners. Subthemes for each primary theme are described. Conclusions: Clinical practice resembles the research literature, as SLPs emphasize requesting and report the use of evidence-based strategies. However, SLPs reported a lack of guidance for teaching social communication, limited generalization of skills, and lack of AAC uptake by communication partners. Finally, SLPs may not consider individual receptive language abilities when making clinical decisions related to AAC. This article indicates a robust need to identify more effective AAC intervention methods that promote social communication, meet the needs of children with severely affected receptive language, and include families to improve outcomes.

Supporting Mental Health in People Living With Aphasia: A Call to Action

Purpose: This clinical focus article will provide an overview of the psychosocial impact of aphasia, with particular attention to depression and anxiety and barriers for accessing mental health services. The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and mental health providers as well as importance of stepped psychological care, peer befriending, support groups, and communication partner training will be highlighted. Resources will be provided for clinicians to utilize in increasing their knowledge and skills in supporting psychosocial issues for people with aphasia and their families. Conclusions: People living with aphasia are at high risk of mental health problems. There is a gap in the need for services and access to services due to the inherent language challenges caused by aphasia. SLPs need to take a leadership role in bridging this gap by partnering with mental health providers to increase access to services. Using the framework of stepped psychological care, SLPs can support people living with aphasia and their families in successfully living with aphasia.