Effects of Aphasia Identification Cards on Comprehension of Aphasic Language by Unfamiliar Communication Partners
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether healthy volunteers are more successful at understanding people with aphasia if they have first viewed an aphasia identification (ID) card. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Does viewing an aphasia ID card improve healthy volunteers' understanding of the language errors made by people with aphasia? * Does viewing an aphasia ID card improve healthy volunteers' understanding of people with aphasia who make long pauses in their speech? Researchers will compare aphasia ID cards to a control condition (no ID card) to see whether aphasia ID cards improve healthy volunteers' understanding. Healthy volunteers will visit the study site for a single session (about 2 hours long). During the session they will: * Complete brief tests of their vision, hearing and thinking * Listen to sentences produced by a speaker with aphasia while their eye movements are recorded * Complete a survey about the experience of listening to the speaker with aphasia
Description
People with aphasia often experience challenges conveying their thoughts to unfamiliar communication partners, which is critical for living independently and building new social connections. This line of research has two long-term objectives: to improve unfamiliar communication partners' comprehension of people with aphasia, and to support people with aphasia in advocating for their communication needs. This project addresses these goals with a focus on service workers, who interact directly with customers to provide goods, services, or information. Being understood by service workers is often…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–59 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult age 18-59 * Currently employed as a service worker * Understand spoken and written English well * High school diploma or equivalency * Normal vision or corrected vision with glasses or contact lenses Exclusion Criteria: * Language disorder * Hearing impairment * Intellectual disability * History of acquired neurological disorder (e.g., stroke or moderate/severe brain injury)
Interventions
- BehavioralAphasia identification (ID) card
Participants will view an aphasia ID card for a speaker with aphasia. The card will disclose the speaker's aphasia, define aphasia, and request time to communicate.
Location
- UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at SpringfieldSpringfield, Massachusetts