Speech

Aphasia

Persona: Gloria

Gloria, 64, Black, lives with her son after a stroke. Regaining independence in managing her finances and needs simplified language and icon-supported interfaces to navigate confidently.

About This Condition

Aphasia affects the ability to produce, find, or organize language, often following stroke or brain injury. Reading dense instructions, composing text, or navigating language-heavy interfaces requires significantly more effort. Simplified language, icon reinforcement, and reduced text input demands directly support access.

Digital Challenges

Long error messages, complex form labels, and interfaces requiring typed free-text responses create significant friction. People with aphasia may understand what they want to do but struggle to find or produce the words required to do it within a standard interface.

Assistive Technologies

  • AAC devices
  • symbol-based communication tools
  • text-to-speech

Design Considerations

Supplement free-text inputs with structured dropdown or selection options where possible. Use short field labels with icon reinforcement. Never use open-ended text entry as the only way to complete a core task in the flow.

Clinical Examples

Broca's aphasia, global aphasia, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.