# Effects of Aphasia Identification Cards on Comprehension of Aphasic Language by Unfamiliar Communication Partners.

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2024 · $404,212

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 People with aphasia often experience challenges conveying their thoughts to unfamiliar communication
partners, which is critical for living independently and building new social connections. This line of research has
two long-term objectives: to improve unfamiliar communication partners’ comprehension of people with aphasia,
and to support people with aphasia in advocating for their communication needs. This project addresses these
goals with a focus on service workers, who interact directly with customers to provide goods, services, or
information. Being understood by service workers is often necessary to complete essential tasks such as
purchasing food and picking up medication. This project investigates whether service workers comprehend
speakers with aphasia more accurately when they have first read an aphasia identification (ID) card. Aphasia ID
cards contain written self-advocacy statements that disclose the speaker’s aphasia, define aphasia, and provide
guidance on how to communicate successfully. These statements have been shown to improve unfamiliar
communication partners’ attitudes (knowledge about aphasia, emotions, and behavior), which improves
communication experiences for people with aphasia. This project tests the central hypothesis that, by improving
unfamiliar communication partners’ attitudes, aphasia ID cards facilitate key language processes that improve
their comprehension of people with aphasia. This randomized controlled trial will enroll 160 service workers who
vary with respect to age, gender, race/ethnicity, and occupation. Half of the service workers will view an aphasia
ID card for a speaker with aphasia, and half will not. Then, all service workers will complete tasks measuring
their attitudes, language processing, and comprehension of service requests (i.e., requests for goods, services,
or information) produced by speakers with aphasia. Eye-tracking will be used to measure key language
processes that take place while service workers listen to the service requests. The Specific Aims are to
investigate how viewing an aphasia ID card affects service workers’ attitudes, language processing, and
comprehension when people with aphasia produce long pauses (Aim 1) and paraphasias (word-retrieval errors)
(Aim 2). By rigorously investigating the effects of aphasia ID cards on service workers’ attitudes, language
processing, and comprehension, this project will contribute to the long-term goals of improving unfamiliar
communication partners’ comprehension and helping people with aphasia self-advocate effectively.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11055738
- **Project number:** 1R21DC021233-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Elaine Mack
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $404,212
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-24 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11055738

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11055738, Effects of Aphasia Identification Cards on Comprehension of Aphasic Language by Unfamiliar Communication Partners. (1R21DC021233-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11055738. Licensed CC0.

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