The purpose of our study is to pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of an approach that we have developed for eliciting recordings from people with aphasia for use in language processing experiments. We hope to learn whether our approach is effective at obtaining recordings that maintain experimental control and that reflect the speakers’ usual language production patterns. Recordings obtained through this study will be used in our NIH-funded clinical trial (NIDCD, R21DC021233). The clinical trial examines the effect of aphasia identification cards on service workers’ comprehension of speakers with aphasia. The present protocol is part of development of materials to be used in the clinical trial, not the clinical trial itself. Research participants will complete a brief aphasia test and answer questions about their aphasia and stroke(s), their history of other relevant conditions (neurological, speech/language, hearing/visual), and their real-world communication experiences. Then, they will record approximately 200-300 sentences that will be used in future research. The sentences consist of things that a customer might say to a service worker. Finally, they will complete a short survey about the recording purpose.

The main purpose of this study is to get sound recordings from speakers with aphasia. We will use the recordings in future research. The future research will try to improve communication partners’ understanding of people with aphasia. If you participate in this study, you will answer questions about yourself. Then, you will complete an aphasia test. Next, you will record 200-300 sentences. The sentences are things that a customer might say to an employee in a store, restaurant, or other setting. Then, you will complete a short survey.

Inclusion: -Adult age 18-75 -Diagnosed with aphasia -Has had aphasia for at least 6 months (chronic aphasia) -Aphasia was caused by stroke -Expressive language challenges -English as a first language (language learned before age 3) -Adequate hearing for speech at a normal volume (with hearing aids, if needed) -Adequate vision to see pictures and large-font text on a computer screen (with glasses or contacts, if needed) Exclusion: -Moderate or severe motor speech impairment (apraxia or dysarthria)

Jennifer Mack

jemack@umass.edu

Stroke

Observational

NA

The total duration of the study will be between 90 minutes and 4 hours. The study can be completed over 1-3 visits.

August 31, 2026

$20/hour ($10 per half hour, rounded up to the nearest half hour).

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