Aphasia partnership training: What outcomes do people with aphasia, family members and speech and language therapists expect?

What is already known on the subject We know that people with aphasia (PWA) and their family members often find it difficult to communicate together with wide-reaching consequences. We know that communication partner training (CPT) benefits families as demonstrated in two systematic reviews of 56 small studies. We also know what outcomes PWA and their families want from speech and language therapy in general, but there is little clarity in the literature about what outcomes are expected from CPT specifically. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This paper highlights the outcomes PWA, family members and speech and language therapists expect from a new CPT programme called Aphasia Partnership Training. These outcomes can be considered for all family dyad CPT programmes. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The outcomes identified through the stakeholder consensus presented from this study can be used to set goals and monitor the success of CPT, help PWA and family members decide whether they want to participate in a communication partner intervention, and ensure that measures used to evaluate the success of CPT interventions are meaningful to PWA and their families.