Browsing by Author "Sunervo, Ilona"

Aim. Aphasia impacts not only the aphasic person, but also the significant others. There has been a largely grown interest on different types of intervention and services directed to significant others. However, there is little evidence how SLPs implement these practices in the clinical rehabilitation process. The aim of this study was to investigate how significant others participate in the rehabilitation process for people with aphasia in the SLPs point of view. Also, the resources and the causes behind these practices were studied. Methods. This study was carried out as a survey for Finnish speech and language therapists working with people with aphasia. The questionnaire was conducted in e-form and sent via the Finnish Association of Speech Therapists to its members. A total of 56 SLPs participated in the survey. The closed questions of the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively, by representing percentages and frequencies of the answers. The qualitative analysis was based on the classification of recurring themes in the open-ended questions. Results and conclusions. According to 60 % of the respondents, significant others were part of the evaluation process frequently or always. In planning the rehabilitation, significant others were involved frequently or always according to 68 % of the respondents. Significant others were frequently or always part of the rehabilitation according to 58 % of the respondents. SLPs used varying methods working with significant others, although structured methods described in the literature were seldom used. The participation of significant others was considered fairly important. SLPs recognized the importance of significant others in supporting communication and overall progress in rehabilitation. Structural/organizational constraints were often mentioned and SLPs also felt that significant others weren't always motivated to participate in the rehabilitation process. Time, therapy materials and education were among the resources that were needed more. As a conclusion, this study shows that practices concerning participation of significant others in the aphasia rehabilitation process are somewhat unestablished in Finland, and that communication partner training hasn't quite yet reached clinicians. There are no clinical guidelines concerning aphasia therapy and significant others participation in it, which based on the results, would be needed.