VR targeting communicative competence and participation in people with aphasia

Background: Aphasia is a language disorder due to brain damage. Since language is crucial for social participation, aphasia significantly impairs a person's everyday life functioning (Code & Herrmann, 2003). While the primary goal of aphasia therapy is to help people with aphasia (PWA) communicate in everyday life, there are currently no materials available aimed at improving everyday communication skills (Groenewold & Bosschers, 2023). Despite the potential of VR for this purpose, its application in aphasia therapy is limited (Devane et al., 2023). In a previous project, pilot VR materials were developed in collaboration with PWA, Speech Language Therapists (SLTs) and researchers. These materials were evaluated by PWA (n=9) and SLTs (n=11). The current project (Participating with Aphasia in Practice; MAP) aims to further develop and implement the VR materials for aphasia treatment.
Methodology: MAP is a two-year project that applies a participatory action research (PAR) approach, involving PWA and SLTs throughout the entire project. The project consists of three phases. In phase 1, the results of the pilot evaluation results are processed and used as input for improved and additional materials. These will be distributed and evaluated by a new group of PWA and SLTs. The results of this evaluation round will serve as input for phase 2. In phase 2, a second round of improvement and development will take place and instructions for SLTs will be developed. In phase 3, the final materials and instructions will be distributed to SLTs in various healthcare settings. In this phase there is room for final adjustments and making the materials future-proof.
Results: The evaluation of the pilot materials showed that both PWA and SLTs see potential in the application of VR in aphasia therapy. PWA indicated, among other things, that it helps to practice with everyday situations, that VR feels natural and that it is easy to participate in the situation. SLTs noticed that it is easier for PWA to give an appropriate response in the VR situation than in a situational exercise with an SLT, where it is more obvious that they are 'pretending'. SLTs also praised the realistic nature of the materials. Since MAP is in its preparatory phase, no final data have been collected. A prioritization of the input from PWA and SLTs and an overview of technical limitations and challenges in treating aphasia will be presented. The hoped-for feedback from experts is an important source of information in the further development process.
Conclusion: VR may offer SLTs a unique opportunity to address communication and participation in a way that has hardly been explored (Devane et al., 2023). Therefore, the MAP project is innovative and highly needed.