Understanding significant others' experience of aphasia and rehabilitation following stroke.

Conclusions: With a greater sensitivity to significant others who focus on the stroke survivor and disregard their own needs, rehabilitation professionals and especially speech-language therapists, can assist families in reestablishing communication and satisfying relationships which are affected because of aphasia. Implications for Rehabilitation This qualitative study shows that significant others of aphasic stroke survivors experience rehabilitation as services focused on the person who had the stroke. Significant others' satisfaction with rehabilitation is not related to the fulfillment of their personal (e.g. resuming their activities) and relational needs (e.g. good communication with the person with aphasia). When offering interventions targeting significant others' needs, rehabilitation professionals should emphasize the rationale for these interventions so that significant others grasp the intention and potential benefits of these offers. PMID: 24369768 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Tags: Disabil Rehabil Source Type: research