To the public and the media, aphasia is an unknown disorder. In this paper, we argue that the ramifications of being "unknown" are far more than philosophical, with resulting economic, psychosocial, and political consequences. We compare aphasia to other neurological disorders and to other historically disenfranchised individuals. We offer some preliminary ideas for media and political action plans to raise awareness, increase funding, and reduce psychosocial isolation for those living with aphasia. The need to inform and unite is great. Only then will those impacted by aphasia begin to receive the resources to which they are entitled.

We examined the effects of group communication treatment on linguistic and communicative performance in adults with chronic aphasia. Participants were randomly assigned to two treatment and two deferred treatment groups. Groups were balanced for age, education level, and initial aphasia severity. Twenty four participants completed the four month treatment trial. While in the treatment condition, all participants received five hours of group communication treatment weekly, provided by a speech-language pathologist. The focus of treatment included increasing initiation of conversation and exchanging information using whatever communicative means possible. While awaiting group communication treatment, participants in the deferred treatment groups engaged in activities such as support, performance, or movement groups in order to control for the effects of social contact. Linguistic and communicative measures were administered to all participants at entry, after two and four months of treatment, and following four-to-six weeks of no treatment. In addition, participants in the deferred treatment groups received an additional administration of all measures just prior to their treatment trial. Results revealed that participants receiving group communication treatment had significantly higher scores on communicative and linguistic measures compared to participants not receiving treatment. In addition, significant increases were revealed after two months of treatment and after four months of treatment. No significant decline in performance occurred at time of follow-up.

This article discusses preliminary psychosocial data from an efficacy study on the effects of group communication treatment in adults with chronic aphasia. Using a qualitative interview approach, participants with aphasia and their relatives/caregivers reported many positive psychosocial changes following treatment. The results suggest that group communication treatment had an impact on participants' home and community lives without direct treatment in those settings. Results are discussed in the context of managed care, group theory, and positive health.

As clinical aphasiologists see different ways to understand the complexity of aphasia within naturalistic and social contexts, there is an increasing need to provide background information on various research paradigms not widely used in the field. Consistent with recent calls for qualitative research in clinical aphasiology, this article provides information on the rationale, design characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of this research paradigm and its usefulness in clinical aphasiology.

It has become almost impossible to write a treatment plan or submit a claim to a third party payer without using the word 'functional.' A speech-language pathologist must identify functional goals, using functional tasks, and show functional gains, or reimbursement for treatment is likely to be denied. This position paper argues that the definition of 'functional' has changed over time and now is becoming synonymous with 'basic skills.' This terminological evolution has far-reaching implications for choosing our treatment candidates and determining treatment goals, as well as dramatically influencing the future of clinical aphasiology.

Current science appears to divide experimentation into two kinds: qualitative and quantitative. Many researchers see these methodologies as polar opposites. However, qualitative and quantitative methods are not mutually exclusive. Our understanding of language and aphasia may be enhanced by 'methods triangulation' in which seemingly diverse paradigms and methods are used to increase the validity of results. It is asserted that the researcher's experimental question will suggest the 'best fit' along this qualitative/quantitative continuum.