Assessments

Where possible, assessments should be used that are appropriate to the languages/dialects and cultural backgrounds of each client.

Reference: N/A
NHMRC level of Evidence: GPP

Rationale: Mere translations of tasks do not ensure equivalency of linguistic difficulty and also may not capture the varied symptoms of aphasia across different languages (Paradis, 2011).
Consideration should be given to the following:
 - Discourse sampling, when conducted well, may be a culturally appropriate as an assessment tool to explore language use (Altman, Goral, & Levy, 2012) and also gain insight into unique bilingual communicative behaviours in its natural context.
- Assessments of how the person with aphasia’s communication is perceived (by the person or their family), such as the American Speech and Hearing Association Functional Assessment of Communication Skills (Frattali, Thompson, Holland, Wohl, & Ferketic, 1995) and the Communicative Effectiveness Index (Lomas et al., 1989), may be adapted for use (see for example Penn & Beecham, 1992; Watson, 2000).

References:

1. Altman, C., Goral, M., & Levy, E. S. (2012). Integrated narrative analysis in multilingual aphasia. Aphasiology, 26(8), 1029-1052.
2. Frattali, C. M., Thompson, C. K., Holland, A. L., Wohl, C., & Ferketic, M. M. (1995). The FACS of Life. ASHA FACS -- A Functional Outcome Measure for Adults. ASHA, 7, 40-46.
3. Penn, C., & Beecham, R. (1992). Discourse therapy in multilingual aphasia: a case study. Clinical Linguistics  & Phonetics, 6(1-2), 11-25. doi: doi:10.3109/02699209208985516
4. Watson, K. (2000). The use of the ASHA-FACS in a rehabiliation setting in South Africa. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Wiwatersrand.