Developing an evidence‐base for accessibility for people with aphasia

Abstract

Background: Discrimination on the basis of disability is prohibited in many countries and therefore research on communication accessibility for people with aphasia has become a priority.

Aims: The aim of this paper is to summarise and discuss the results of a series of research studies, carried out in one Centre, into accessibility issues for people with aphasia, focusing on the accessibility of community environments and the accessibility of information.

Main Contribution: When asked about the accessibility of the community generally, people with aphasia reported both physical and societal barriers and facilitators, as well as barriers and facilitators related to other people. Many people with aphasia still do not receive written health information about aphasia and, when they do, the information is often written at a level too high for them to read. In terms of the accessibility of written information on websites about aphasia, high‐quality websites may not be easily accessible to people with aphasia. For accessible websites to be delivered, the involvement of people with aphasia is paramount.

Conclusions: There are three common themes emerging from this series of research studies. First, accessibility is an important and often emotive issue for people with aphasia. Second, people with aphasia are marginalised by a communicatively inaccessible society. Third, there is considerable diversity among people with aphasia about their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to communication in the community.