Year of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis - Campus Access Only

Degree Type

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Speech-Language Pathology

Department or School/College

Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Committee Chair

Catherine Off

Commitee Members

Amy Glaspey, Carolyn Baylor, Cynthia Garthwait

Keywords

aphasia, communicative participation, outcome measure, proxy

Publisher

University of Montana

Abstract

Purpose: In this pilot study, the author investigated the association of proxy report of communicative participation for persons with aphasia (PWA) to determine if proxy report can be used to assess communicative participation status. Method: The current study included 7 PWA- proxy pairs. All participants were administered the Communicative Participation Item Bank General Short Form (CPIB). PWA and proxy responses and various participant characteristics (e.g., age, severity of aphasia, time post onset, relationship and time spent together) were compared using graphic representations and statistical analyses. Results: Inferential statistical analysis was unreliable due to small sample size; consequently, visual inspection was the primary means for interpretation. Overall, proxies rated communicative participation lower than PWA and rated higher communicative participation for PWA with less severe aphasia. Male proxies rated communicative participation lower than females. Male PWA rated their communicative participation greater than did females. PWA report of communicative participation and severity of aphasia did not appear to be associated. Differences of time spent together and relationship between PWA and proxy were unable to be determined due to the homogeneity of sample in regards to these characteristics. Conclusions: This study suggests that there is modest association between PWA and proxy report on the CPIB. Although the PWA reported with a negative bias, proxy report paralleled PWA report. Low proxy report of communication is associated with increased PWA and proxy age, time post onset, and severity of aphasia. Limitations of the current study included small sample size, difficulty controlling participant attributes, discrepancies in administration techniques, and using unrepresentative language scores. The CPIB may be used with PWA with intact receptive language to assess communicative participation but may not be appropriate for individuals with impaired receptive language. Preliminary results indicate that further evaluation of proxy reliability and any influencing factors is warranted.

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© Copyright 2013 Megan Rose Eandi