Aphasia in the context of the pandemic: language activities developed by Zoom and Whatsapp

Abstract

Taking into account the difficulties faced by aphasic subjects in the utterances production and comprehension, both oral and written, this study aims at discussing the continuous work positive impacts, using Zoom and WhatsApp, during the pandemic period, while developing language activities with GB, a young aphasic woman, who attends the Center for Aphasic Individuals (Institute of Language Studies from the State University of Campinas, Unicamp). The longitudinal study is supported by an ongoing doctoral research, developed by the Group of Language Studies on Aging and Pathologies. The present article follows the theoretical-methodological principles based on enunciative-discursive neurolinguistics (Coudry, 1986, 1988) with focus on qualitative research and case studies. Based also on Luria’s (1981, 1986) and Vygotsky’s (2000 [1984]) neuropsychology, the brain is understood as a system that operates from the joint and integrated activity of functional units, emphasizing the social relations mediated by culturally developed symbols. In addition, Bakhtinian categories (Novaes-Pinto, 1999) allow us to analyze the dialogic processes, considering language production effective contexts, in order to understand the neurological damage impact on linguistic-cognitive functioning. For this, we bring some clippings of virtual interactions between the researcher (Idb) and GB, emphasizing the epi- and metalinguistic work that constitute discursive reorganization processes developed. By providing different features, the digital tools bring new possibilities for creating meaningful alternative strategies, generating a fundamental network that brings benefits to aphasics, while becoming an object of interest for research in several areas. Keywords: Aphasias; neurolinguistics; reading; writing; epilinguistics