ABSTRACT
Social validation of an outcome is achieved by assessing the social significance of the goals, the social appropriateness of the procedures, and the social importance of the behavioral change (Kazdin, 1977; Wolf, 1978). This is essential if we are to generate meaningful conclusions regarding rehabilitation therapy. This chapter provides insights into the origins of social validation of change in the literature, and the application of this concept in aphasia therapy today. An excerpt from Talking about aphasia (Parr, Byng, Gilpin, & Ireland, 1997, p. 82) illustrates the frustration experienced by a person with aphasia while working on treatment goals. It aptly speaks to the need for social validation of therapeutic targets and strategies:
Weekly group therapy involved quizzes and language games. At the time he [Vincent, the person with aphasia] was consumed with a desire to return to work and was extremely anxious about his financial and home situation. While not being at all critical, Vincent points out that the weekly activities in speech and language therapy did not touch on these issues: “I personally had got a bit bored – I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know when I had the stroke, like the history of the Royals – The speech therapy didn’t give me information about help. The help they give me is to try and get better.” Vincent eventually left the group, but stays in touch with some of the people he met there.
