Designing remote synchronous auditory comprehension assessment for severely impaired individuals with aphasia

BackgroundThe use of telepractice in aphasia research and therapy is increasing in frequency. Teleassessment in aphasia has been demonstrated to be reliable. However, neuropsychological and clinical language comprehension assessments are not always readily translatable to an online environment and people with severe language comprehension or cognitive impairments have sometimes been considered to be unsuitable for teleassessment.AimThis project aimed to produce a battery of language comprehension teleassessments at the single word, sentence and discourse level suitable for individuals with moderate-severe language comprehension impairments.MethodsAssessment development prioritised response consistency and clinical flexibility during testing. Teleassessments were delivered in PowerPoint over Zoom using screen sharing and remote control functions. The assessments were evaluated in 14 people with aphasia and 9 neurotypical control participants. Modifiable assessment templates are available here: .Main ContributionsPeople with aphasia were able to engage in language comprehension teleassessment with limited carer support. Only one assessment could not be completed for technical reasons. Statistical analysis revealed above chance performance in 141/151 completed assessments.ConclusionsPeople with aphasia, including people with moderate-severe comprehension impairments, are able to engage with teleassessment. Successful teleassessment can be supported by retaining clinical flexibility and maintaining consistent task demands.

Automated summary

The use of telepractice in aphasia research and therapy is increasing, but language comprehension assessments are not always easily translated to an online environment. This project aimed to develop teleassessments for individuals with language comprehension impairments, and found that people with aphasia can engage in teleassessment with limited carer support.