A characteristic of aphasia is difficulty expressing needs and wants to a communication partner (CP), which is exacerbated by limited public awareness of the communication disorder. Aphasia ID cards have been developed to ease encounters between persons with aphasia (PWA) and a CP. These cards typically include self-disclosure, a definition of aphasia, information about its impact on the person, and instructions on improving communication. 

Data for this project comes from a larger ongoing study comparing an aphasia ID card group versus a control group (no ID card) on a task measuring their comprehension abilities in simulated service encounters with a PWA (Service Request Comprehension Task). This project specifically investigates how attentive reading of the aphasia ID card affects comprehension of speech involving paraphasias (unintended sounds or words). To understand paraphasic speech, listeners must undergo a “repair process” to infer the speaker’s intended meaning from context rather than rely on literal interpretation. Attentive reading behaviors with the ID card may support this inferential process. We will examine this by analyzing the relationship between comprehension accuracy on service requests containing paraphasias and eye-tracking measures of fixations on keywords (e.g. “aphasia”) and phrases from the card. 

Our findings will provide insight into the objective effectiveness of aphasia ID cards as communication tools, as well as possible card-design improvements. Evidence-supported ID cards may promote awareness of aphasia and improve communication outcomes, which in turn would support the social wellbeing of individuals with aphasia.