The use of conversation analysis to guide individualized advice to carers and evaluate change in aphasia: a case study

Recent research findings have suggested that there is a need for an individualized approach to the development of facilitation strategies which takes into account the unique effects of aphasia. The aim of this paper is to examine the use of conversation analysis (CA) to guide individualized advice to the brother (RB) of a man with aphasia (JB) and to provide a mechanism to evaluate the effect of the interaction. RE attended a weekly communication skills training group which ran once a week for six consecutive weeks. Prior to his inclusion in the group a qualitative analysis of a conversation between him and his brother provided detailed information on collaborative repair management. An assessment of his perception of the linguistic and pragmatic manifestations of his brother's aphasia was performed using the Conversation Analysis Profile for People with Aphasia (CAPPA). The detailed insights provided by the analyses guided the issues covered during the group. Following the intervention, the assessments were repeated and a comparison was made with the pre-intervention results to investigate the outcome of the group. This paper illustrates the effective use of CA to guide an intervention programme which addresses issues specific to the person with aphasia and their key conversational partner. Furthermore, the comparison of the pre-and post-intervention analyses demonstrates the use of CA to evaluate the outcome of an intervention.