“Just Not Together”: The Experience of Videoconferencing for People with Aphasia during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The effects of COVID-19 on the rehabilitation of persons with aphasia: A scoping review

“…Therefore, to ensure the success of telerehabilitation, therapists must take into consideration the recommendations by Hall, Boisvert and Steele (2012), who propose that before assigning patients to telerehabilitation, therapists need to be aware of factors such as their communication and motor abilities, severity, chronicity and symptoms of aphasia. A study conducted by Neate, Kladouchou, Wilson and Shams ( 2022 ) agrees with the finding of this study regarding online therapy as not always being successful. Neate et al ( 2022 ) found that persons with aphasia were often distressed in online sessions for numerous reasons, including experiencing fatigue when they had to speak, challenges around framing of props and videoconferencing platforms putting group members in small tiles making it difficult to read other members’ facial expressions and turn-taking challenges.…”

“…A study conducted by Neate, Kladouchou, Wilson and Shams (2022) agrees with the finding of this study regarding online therapy as not always being successful. Neate et al (2022) found that persons with aphasia were often distressed in online sessions for numerous reasons, including experiencing fatigue when they had to speak, challenges around framing of props and videoconferencing platforms putting group members in small tiles making it difficult to read other members' facial expressions and turn-taking challenges. One of the key outcomes of aphasia therapy is to facilitate communication and increase participation, which is usually facilitated through group-based therapy because it provides natural and social communication (Fama, Baron, Hatfield, & Turkeltaub, 2016).…”

Practitioners’ ability to remotely develop understanding for personalised care and support planning: a thematic analysis of multiple data sources from the feasibility phase of the Dementia Personalised Care Team (D-PACT) intervention

“…In addition to DSWs' strategies for overcoming barriers to their understanding, people with dementia and carers also adapted and found a way to help practitioners understand what mattered to them -by sharing photos and objects of interest to them via the video screen. Similar findings were reported in a study on the use of videoconferencing for people living with aphasiawith people using photos and other props to help charity staff members get to know more about their passions (Neate, Kladouchou, Wilson and Shams (2021). Such findings emphasise the importance of practitioners spending time to get to know the person with dementia and carer, recognising that listening, showing genuine interest and engaging in conversations/activities led by people they support can be just as (or more) helpful than the use of practitioner-led questions to forge a personal connection and develop their understanding of what matters to the people they support and their situation, regardless of whether the interaction occurs remotely or in person.…”

“…It is clear that, alongside this study, other studies (e.g. Neate et al, 2021 ; Tuijt et al, 2021 ) on the remote delivery of support for people with dementia and other complex conditions are yielding important insights that are transferrable to other health and social care settings. Moving forward, it would be advantageous for practitioners delivering support remotely to be able to draw upon a synthesised evidence base on what has been shown to work remotely across service sectors and patient groups both generally - but also for specific interactional goals/activities relating to personalised care, such as the development of shared or mutual understanding.…”

“You’ll find most people who got involved with the Café couldn’t do without it now” – Socialising in an online versus in-person Aphasia Café

“…Challenges to successful online interactions include technological difficulties, excluding those with limited access to technology (Menger, Morris & Salis, 2019), communicating in a less authentic setting, poor internet strength and familiarity with the chosen platform (Caute et al, 2022). Online interactions can be particularly difficult for PwA (Kearns & Cunningham, 2022) presenting an additional hurdle to communication interactions for many (Neate et al, 2022). When surveyed, Speech and Language Therapists identified challenges such as functionality of buttons and menus, and usability in relation to PwA's cognitive and physical needs (Cuperus et al, 2022).…”