Communication partner training in aphasia: reflections on communication accommodation theory

ABSTRACT

Background: Clinicians and researchers have reported that some people with aphasia fail to generalize trained augmentative strategies to everyday communication. Communication Accommodation Theory is one potential explanation for this characteristic. Accommodation theory suggests that participants in conversation adjust their talk to adapt to their speaking partners. When speaking partners fail to use or orient positively to augmentative communication modes, people with aphasia are likely to accommodate to the standard (largely spoken) communication style of the non-aphasic partner. The result is likely to be less effective transactional communication.

Aims: The objective of this article is to describe Communication Accommodation Theory as it relates to communicative success in aphasia, aphasia intervention and communication partner training (CPT).

Main Contribution: Research from sociolinguistics and psychology on Communication Accommodation Theory is described in order to enhance our understanding of communication in aphasia.

Conclusions: Communication Accommodation Theory provides a rationale for communication partner training in aphasia and enriches our understanding of communication in aphasia.

KEYWORDS:

• Aphasia
• therapy
• partner training
• communication accommodation theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research in Humanities under grant number DFF-4180-00046.