Evaluating emotional well-being in the person with acquired communication disability: a multidisciplinary approach

The methods for evaluating emotional well-being in the stroke population and specifically, the aphasic population, have been shown to be varied across NHS services in the UK. In spite of this, mood disorders are very common after stroke. Although there is some variation in reports, up to 50% of stroke patients will suffer with depression at some point following their stroke (Gordon and Hibbard, 1997) and this will include aphasic speakers. The guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2004) states that ‘patients should be screened for depression and anxiety within the first month of stroke and their mood kept under review’ (Guideline 4.1.1.c). However, there are well recognised difficulties in evaluating well-being in the aphasic speaker (Code and Herrman 2003) because of problems in making test items comprehensible