Pointing as an embodied practice in aphasic interaction

Abstract

Background: Relatively few qualitative studies have been published on the role of the embodied practices related to aphasic language problems during talk-in-interaction. It has been suggested that one way of adapting to aphasic language is by using different types of embodied practices. The use of embodied practices may reflect an effort to facilitate impaired verbal processing or their use may function as compensatory behavior to deal with troubles arising during conversation or to avoid these troubles arising in the first place. Pointing gestures may refer to the immediate physical environment, such as to a specific object or a specific place, to another participant, or even to speakers themselves. Occasionally, a pointing gesture may refer to more abstract entities, such as distant places or specific moments.Aims: The aim of this article is to explore conversational sequences with persons with aphasia (PWAs) that contain several pointing gestures. It is analysed how PWAs use pointing gestures in conversation when they are faced with complex comprehension problems as well as verbal output problems.Methods & Procedures: The method of conversation analysis is applied in this study.Outcomes & Results: The qualitative analysis in this study supports the assertion that pointing gestures are significant actions in conversation. Pointing is used in various places in talk where PWAs are experiencing difficulty, such as when problems occur in language comprehension as well as in language production, for example, in the absence of a specific word or the grammatical constructions that are needed. The results suggest that pointing gestures are used in a number of ways as an interactional resource. However, the identification of the referent may need extensive interactional work by the participants.Conclusions: These findings suggest that embodied interaction should be explored more extensively in aphasic talk-in-interaction. Conversation with PWAs is a joint and multimodal activity, which also needs to be taken into account in intervention targeted at aphasia.

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