| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 特殊教育學系 === 105 === Aphasia is a language disorder due to damage to specific brain regions. Traditional speech language intervention was mostly focused on the linguistic areas where clients experienced difficulties. As the most recent trend in working with clients with aphasia emphasized the importance of language use, the objective of aphasia treatment has gradually turned to promoting effective communication between the clients with aphasia and their communication partners to increase clients’ social participation. Family members, as part of clients’ immediate social environments, were the most important communication partners and have become targets of speech and language pathologists’ language intervention. Adopting a phenomenological approach, this qualitative interview study aimed to reveal, from the perspectives of the family members, how they communicated with their loved ones with aphasia. Six family members of people with aphasia were interviewed using a semi-structured qualitative schedule with open-ended questions. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by the researcher. The interview transcripts were analyzed via thematic analysis. The communication strategies utilized by family members of people with aphasia were categorized into five themes- observing, guessing, adjusting, empathizing, and supporting. These strategies must be utilized in tandem to facilitate effective communication. Discussion in factors that supported these strategies and suggestions for speech and language researchers and practitioners were provided.
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