Expanding Aphasia Support Globally: Lessons Learned From the Korean Aphasia Community

Purpose: Aphasia support groups serve as an important role in facilitating sustainable aphasia management and enhancing quality of life. With rapidly growing geriatric populations from culturally and linguistically different backgrounds within the United States and globally and insufficient clinicians and resources, the need for accessible aphasia support groups is paramount. In this clinical focus article, we introduce the Korean Aphasia Community as an innovative model for an international aphasia community. Method: We describe the clinical motivation and philosophy, detailed history, structure and activities of the program development, strategies for balancing clinician-led and patient-led interactions and participation, and mentorship models for clinicians. Results: The Korean Aphasia Community is a successful clinical life participation model that provides support, group-based communication activities, and education to Korean-speaking persons with aphasia, their loved ones, expanding aphasia support on a global scale. Conclusion: By sharing the lessons learned from one of the first, virtual aphasia communities for non–English-speaking persons with aphasia, we hope this article can serve as a useful resource for other clinicians who are interested in starting their own virtual international aphasia groups. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30302032