Abstract

This chapter applies a critical discourse perspective to the different ways in which the communication disorder known as aphasia is currently understood. Through the use of a single case study of a woman who has acquired moderate-severe aphasia following stroke, the chapter compares a range of discourse samples that illuminate how her difficulties are identified and described. Excerpts from a written report of results of formal testing, a case history interview, a casual conversation with a clinician, and an interview for public awareness about aphasia are analyzed. These texts are also compared with an analysis of the representation of aphasia in discourse samples from websites of speech-language pathology professional associations and support groups for aphasia. Implications arising from this critical discourse perspective for the practice of speech-language pathology are discussed.