UM Graduate Student Advocates for Aphasia Patients Through Research

By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service

MISSOULA – About one-third of people who survive a stroke develop aphasia, a neurologic disorder that affects language and communication. The disorder can lead to trouble speaking, understanding spoken language, and reading and writing. 

Lexi Bartell, a University of Montana master’s student in speech-language pathology, has dedicated her studies to advocate for people with aphasia and examine why their experiences are often under-represented in research. 

Bartell, who grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, worked as a pediatric speech-language pathologist assistant before pursuing a master’s degree at UM’s School of Speech, Language, Hearing and Occupational Sciences. She had never worked with stroke survivors until she joined UM’s Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program, a three-week experience where she worked directly with eight aphasia patients in group and individual settings. 

Bartell was among eight student clinicians each assigned to a patient with aphasia. She also had a dual role as a researcher who interviewed all eight patients for her thesis project on patient satisfaction for those with aphasia.  

“My thesis project is geared toward patient satisfaction because this is an area that has not been very explored,” Bartell said. “I set up patient satisfaction interviews with all eight aphasia patients. The goal of the interviews was to gather their expectations for the program in the beginning and at the end we gathered their experience. It really gave them a platform to report back on their care directly.”

Bartell’s thesis mentor Dr. Jenna Musick, an assistant professor and co-director of the Big Sky Aphasia Program, was impressed with how Bartell gained patients’ trust. 

“I watched the difference from her first interview when she was still learning how to interact with the patients,” Musick said. “By the end of the program, she was so comfortable and confident and that gave the people with aphasia so much space to be able to speak for themselves.”

The program prepared Bartell and the other students for real-world clinical experience. It also offered the patients effective rehabilitation and opportunities to work on their communications skills in different environments. 

Part of the ICAP featured three community outings to the Flathead Lake Biological Station, Missoula Art Museum and the Smokejumper Visitor Center in Missoula. 

“A lot of folks with aphasia have their intelligence intact and they have a lot they want to communicate, but there is a lot of social isolation that happens,” Musick said. “By going on these outings, they are working on real-life communication.”

Through the interviews and interactions, Bartell was inspired by the aphasia patients’ resilience. 

Abigail St. Lawrence, an attorney and lobbyist from Great Falls who developed aphasia after suffering a stroke four years ago, was one of the patients in the ICAP. St. Lawrence has worked hard in her recovery to speak again and showed that determination in the program, Bartell said. 

“Every single patient I worked with had an impressive level of hard-work and resilience,” Bartell said. “In every interaction, I saw that in Abigail. She is one of the most resilient and inspiring people I’ve ever met.” 

Bartell will present her findings from interviews with the aphasia patients at the American Speech Language Hearing Association fall convention later this month in Indianapolis. The national convention features about 30,000 speech-language pathologists and audiologists from around the globe. Bartell will be one of the few graduate students to present. 

“Patient satisfaction for people with aphasia is an area of research that is very underdeveloped. I'm hoping my presentation gets the ball rolling and maybe other researchers will dive into something similar,” Bartell said. “It’s proven in healthcare that people’s report on their own care is necessary for a healthcare system to keep growing. If we are going to keep serving people with aphasia, we need to find a way to get their feedback.”

Bartell’s experience working with aphasia patients has motivated her to continue that work professionally. 

“I really do want to work with adults and in particular with stroke survivors,” Bartell said. “The ICAP definitely swayed me in that direction. I have so much admiration for that population and seeing how hard they work.” 

To watch a video related to this article, visit: https://bit.ly/ICAPvideo

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Contact: Dave Kuntz, UM vice president for marketing and communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu