Managing aphasia in bilingual and culturally and linguistically diverse individuals in an Australian context: Challenges and future directions

Abstract

In Australia, cultural and linguistic diversity is a crucial factor to be addressed in planning and delivering rehabilitation services for individuals with aphasia and their families. Challenges include the extensive number of languages spoken by Indigenous and migrant Australians, as well as limited research evidence pertaining to assessment and intervention for people with bilingual aphasia. In addition, clinical challenges include lack of consistent terminology used to refer to people with aphasia who are bilingual or from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and limited existing resources for speech pathology management of this population. This paper outlines key issues relevant to speech pathology management of people with aphasia who are bilingual or from CALD backgrounds and identifies gaps in the existing research literature. Recommendations for clinical management are discussed and the imperative for further research is illustrated.