What helps confidence in communication - Perspectives of adults with aphasia: "Get maze…not stay out it"

The ultimate aim of speech-language therapy for adults with aphasia is to enhance their life participation. One key factor which may influence an individual's decisions to participate in meaningful life activities is their confidence in communication. The aim of the current study was to explore what helps confidence in communication from the perspective of adults with aphasia.

The study, part of a larger investigation, used a qualitative descriptive research approach underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm. Fifteen adult participants who had post-stroke aphasia and lived at home or in long-term care were recruited. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, participants had to be able to complete an online qualitative interview, given conversational support. Maximum variation sampling was used to ensure diversity within the sample. The researchers conducted individual interviews over Zoom based on a topic guide exploring the person's experiences with confidence in communicating and their perceptions about what has helped their confidence in communication since the onset of aphasia. The interviews were video-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Categories of what helps confidence in communication included: Attitudes, Advocating for themselves, Having individualized strategies to deal with communication difficulties, Practicing communication, Other people with aphasia (PWA), Factors related to communication partners, Factors related to the communication context, and Other factors.

To enhance confidence, speech-language pathologists could help PWA to develop strategies to deal with inevitable communication breakdowns. They could also support PWA to experience communication success in everyday situations and to advocate for themselves.