JCPSLP Vol 14 No 2 2012

Participants Participants were recruited through support groups and speech-language therapists who worked with people using AAC. For inclusion in the study participants with an acquired communication disorder were required to: (a) be aged 18 years or over, with an acquired communication disorder; (b) be in a current long-term relationship with a spouse or partner who was also willing to participate in the study; (c) have had experiences using AAC some or all of the time as a mode of communication because of their acquired communication disorder; d) be able to participate in an in-depth interview in English using speech and/or AAC. Six dyads met the eligibility criteria for the investigation. One of these dyads initially agreed to participate, but then withdrew due to personal matters. Five participants with an acquired communication disorder and five partner participants participated in the study. Sampling Maximum variation sampling, a type of purposeful sampling, was used in this study. This involved identifying “diverse characteristics of particular interest in constructing the sample to maximise the variation in a small sample” (Patton, 2002, p. 235). Sampling was sought for these characteristics: gender (male/female), type of

communication disorder (speech/language), and progression of communication disorder (degenerative/ non-degenerative). At least one participant who met the criterion for each category was recruited. Participant details with the maximum variation sampling characteristics, and full biographical details, are presented in Table 1. For full biographical details of the spouses/partners see Table 2. Pseudonyms were used throughout the study in order to protect the identity of the participants. Participants and their partners ranged in age from 32 to 68 years and were of NZ European or English ethnicities. Additional identifying data such as occupation are not reported in order to protect participants’ identity. Interview procedure Data collection involved joint and individual semi-structured interviews with the participants. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed and then provided to participants to read, edit, and confirm. This provided participants with the opportunity to modify the transcript, if required, to ensure that it was an accurate representation of their thoughts and experiences. This procedure endeavoured to verify the validity of the data. All participants were also offered the opportunity to supplement interviews with email responses to any of the questions from the topic guide.

Table 1. Biographical details of the five adults with acquired communication disorders Participant* David Laura James Clive

Deb

Sex (Age) Diagnosis

Male (38)

Female (44)

Male (32)

Male (57)

Female (52)

Motor neuron disease Aphasia resulting

Locked-in syndrome Locked-in syndrome Tracheal stenosis

from stroke

resulting from

resulting from brain requiring tracheos-

traumatic head &

stem stroke

tomy, causing loss

neck injury

of voice

Spoken

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes (mouthing)

communication Years since onset

1–3

> 10 > 20

>10

1–3

5–10

Length of

10–20

< 5 (18mths)

> 20

> 20

relationship (years) Time spent with

1–3

1–3

5–10 (online)

All day

All day

partner per day (hours) Types of

Electronic – EZ keys,

Written, Spoken, Sign language,

Perspex eye-gaze, Alphabet board,

Alphabet board,

Electrolarynx Nu-Vois III, Written, Gesture, Spoken (mouthing)

communication used Gesture – vocalisa-

Spoken, Gestures,

tions, Head nods, Facial expression

Gestures,

Email

Communication book

Email

Computer

Main communication MSN, Emails,

Spoken, Text message Perspex eye-gaze,

Spoken

Spoken (mouthing)

with partner

Text message, Skype,

Alphabet board,

Electrolarynx

Gestures

Email

Nu-Vois III

Employment status

Retired

Retired

Not working

Working part-time

Not working

Living arrangements Living with partner,

Living with partner

Living alone, with full-time carers

Living with partner, with part- time carers

Living with partner

with full-time carers

Co-existing

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Meniere’s disease

conditions *All names are pseudonyms.

Table 2. Biographical details of the five partners/spouses of adults with acquired communication disorders Participant* Maggie Steve Hannah Janet Henry Sex (Age) Female (38) Male (48) Female (37) Female (55) Male (68) Marital status Wife Husband Partner/girlfriend Wife Partner Employment status Not in paid employment Working full-time Working full-time Not in paid employment Semi-retired *All names are pseudonyms.

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JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 2 2012

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