Describing the experience of aphasia rehabilitation through metaphor

Authors

• Alison Ferguson, University of Newcastle
• Linda Worrall, University of Queensland
• Bronwyn Davidson, University of Queensland
• Deborah Hersh, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
• Tami Howe, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Ze
• Sue Sherratt, University of Newcastle

Document Type

Journal Article

Keywords

[speech pathology], Aphasia, Rehabilitation, Metaphor, Discourse analysis, Goals

Publisher

Psychology Press

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

School

School of Psychology and Social Science

RAS ID

10343

Comments

Ferguson, A., Worrall, L., Davidson, B., Hersh, D. J., Howe, T., & Sherratt, S. (2010). Describing the experience of aphasia rehabilitation through metaphor. Aphasiology, 24(6-8), 685-696. Available here

Abstract

Background: Previous research into metaphoric expression has suggested that metaphor offers a window into intra-individual conceptions as well as into socio-cultural understandings of illness and recovery. This study explored how people with aphasia, their family members, and their speech-language pathologists described their experiences of rehabilitation through the linguistic resource of metaphor. Aims: This study aimed to compare the perspectives of five people with aphasia, five of their family members, and their eight treating speech-language pathologists by analysing the way they used the linguistic resource of metaphor to describe their experience of aphasia therapy. Methods & Procedures: Interviews with five people with aphasia, five of their family members, and their eight speech-language pathologists were recorded, transcribed, and coded for metaphoric expressions and concepts. Outcomes & Results: Quantitatively across all participants, the metaphorical concepts of JOURNEY, BATTLE, and PRODUCT were the most frequently used metaphoric