ABSTRACT
Therapists have been unable to work so closely with family and carers to demonstrate techniques, or even to prioritise communication assessments and therapy. It seems tragic to the author that families feel it is down to sheer chance whether the therapist they encounter 'chooses' to work in a particular way. Families need to be recognised, with their burden of caring, financial, and many other roles, their loneliness and frustration. Sometimes the PWA expects to be treated as a priority in the longer term, making it harder for families to return to a sense of normal functioning again. Aphasia often feels like the poor relation in SLT work, and community SLT is seen as the poor relation in SLT work with the adult health population. Calling something supported conversation sounds like a simple solution to a challenging problem.
