Aphasia Rehabilitation in India: A preliminary survey of Speech- Language Pathologists

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the issues speech-language pathologists ( SLPs) face in the rehabilitation of people with aphasia (PwA) in India. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 540 SLPs through e-mail. Among 437 survey recipients, 61 SLPs participated in the study. The questionnaire explored various 'client-related' and 'clinician-related' issues in the rehabilitation of PwA in addition to the sections that gleaned into the clinician and therapy characteristics, and finally the SLPs' concerns toward aphasia rehabilitation. The major 'client-related' issues highlighted were: • .1 poor economic status, distant therapy centres, poor family support and subjects' motivation, associated problems ( e.g. hemiplegia), acute stage, lack of awarend s about aphasia and its management in the common public. The main 'clinician-related' issues were the lack of adequate time for rehabilitation and the general inefficiency of the therapy techniques. M ore importantly, the survey stressed on the lack of basic epidemiological research on aphasia in India. Being a preliminary sU111ey of first in its kind, the study revealed several basic issues in the rehabilitation of PwA confronted by SLPs in India.