Aphasia is an acquired language disorder which results in speech or word-finding difficulties, for example. It is most often the result of a cerebrovascular accident but can also be associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Aphasia can significantly limit the affected person's participation in various everyday communication situations, such as chatting or exchanging news with loved ones and friends.
A comprehensive assessment of the communication of a person with aphasia is the basis for effective aphasia rehabilitation. Speech therapists have several assessment tools at their disposal to assess the linguistic skills of aphasic people, but there are limited assessment tools for functional communication. As a result, functional communication is not currently assessed consistently, which can impact the effectiveness of rehabilitation.
The research project examines the functional communication ability of Finnish-speaking people with aphasia in both imaginary everyday communication situations and in unstructured conversation contexts. It also examines how people with aphasia perform on tests measuring linguistic and non-linguistic skills, and how this relates to functional communication.
The aim of the project is to produce new information on functional communication in people with aphasia caused by cerebrovascular disease or by neurodegenerative disease with primary language deficits. The new information can help develop communication rehabilitation and education offered to people with aphasia and their loved ones. In addition, the project will introduce and develop new assessment tools for speech therapists to assess functional communication. Overall, the new information produced in the project and the new assessment methods will enable a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the communication of Finnish-speaking people with aphasia.
The research project is being carried out in cooperation between the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku and HUS.