“He’s in the band, he’s still one of us”

Purpose: Communication is an essential ingredient in friendship that is profoundly impacted by aphasia, a communication disability commonly caused by stroke. People with aphasia want to maintain the friends that they had before aphasia’s onset, but this proves difficult. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of friends who have remained since the onset of aphasia to better understand how to support these relationships. Methods: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with eight participants who currently had a friend living with aphasia. Results: The following themes were constructed using reflexive thematic analysis: “I don’t know what to do”; “It’s hard to see the changes”; “Here’s what worked”; and “Just do it”. Discussion/Conclusions: Findings support the incorporation of friends in comprehensive aphasia rehabilitation, as friends of people living with aphasia provided key insights. Friends require more education and training about aphasia, about how to communicate with someone who has aphasia, and about expectations for recovery. Employing preferred supported conversation techniques, reflecting on the friendship, and sharing mutually enjoyable nonlanguage activities appear critical to friendship maintenance for people living with aphasia.