Supported Conversation for Adults With Aphasia

 SCA or supported conversation for adults with a conversation partner is a communication technique that uses various methods to enable a better conversation with someone with Aphasia using things like written words as well as spoken, hand drawings, pictographs, gestures, facial expressions and body language. When someone knows more than they are able to communicate or are unable to properly say what they want and express their feelings and opinions this can be very hard. People start to feel invisible, might be treated as if they are mentally incompetent and are unvalued. Using SCA those who are friends with, work with, live with and so on can better break down those communication barriers.

What are the goals of SCA?

There are two important things people around those with Aphasia need to do. Make sure they feel acknowledged and have the tools and skills needed to show their competence.

1) Acknowledge the competence of the adult with aphasia

A person with Aphasia understandable needs people around them to understand their difficulty with speech is not a reflection of their mental capacity or does not mean they cannot make decisions for themselves. With supported conversation this is possible. With a natural tone of voice, talking to an adult like an adult, not dumbing down conversations, acknowledging they know something, acknowledging communication breakdowns to your own limited communication skills, not theirs, being open with information these are all things that help.

2) Help the adult with aphasia to reveal his or her competence

There are techniques the conversation partner and the person with Aphasia can learn that help with the process of exchanging information and emotions. First of all, there are methods and tools on how to get the message in. Some those talking with people with Aphasia can do include using an expressive but not condescending voice, keeping sentences shorter and simpler. Using gestures as they talk to make their point, and writing down topic titles and keywords and using them as they talk.

It also helps to use pictures to illustrate different ideas but only focusing on one picture at a time, and have no noise or other people in the background that might distract. The partner should also carefully observe the person with Aphasia, their eye gaze, expressions, posture and such to better understand how much they comprehend.

The process of helping them get what they want to say out can be a larger challenge. To help them you should ask them just yes or no questions so it is easier for them to answer, keep it to one question at a time, use fixed choice questions, give them plenty of time avoid rushing them and ask them to gesture, point to pictures, keywords, objects and such.

Next, you need to verify that you have understood them correctly by summarising clearly, add written keywords, repeat their message, explain on what they said and recap the conversation.

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