Aphasia Snapshot Results: How Has the Pandemic Affected Your Life?

We’re excited to reveal the results of our second Aphasia Snapshot. We asked people with aphasia how the pandemic affected their day-to-day world. This is what they said.

On a scale from 1 – 5, how much has the pandemic impacted your life?

14.3% said that almost nothing changed this year. Yet 7.1% said that a little changed, and another 14.3% said that some things changed. 32.1% said that many things changed, and an additional 32.1% said that everything changed.

During the pandemic, do you think you talk with people more or less than usual?

14.8% speak more, 18.5% speak about the same, but 66.7% said they speak less than usual.

Have your friendships been affected by the pandemic?

The largest percentage of participants (46.4%) said their friendships have been impacted by the pandemic. 25% said that some have changed but not others. 28.6% said their friendships haven’t changed at all.

How have your activities changed during the pandemic? In the list below, tell us which you’re doing more, less, or the same.

Television watching and sleeping time increased while walking, talking with friends and family, and reading have mostly stayed the same.

Has working on your language skills changed?

46.6% have been practicing about the same. 17.9% practice more while 35.7% practice less.

Have your language skills changed during the pandemic?

48.1% feel there is no change in their speech. 22.2% feel their speech has gotten better, while 29.6% believe it has gotten worse.

How has each language skill changed during the pandemic?

Luckily, most of the time, language skills have gotten better or remained the same rather than getting worse (the smallest section in the middle of each line).

How has your outlook changed during the pandemic? (Check all that apply.)

10.7% say that it hasn’t changed but…

50% said, “I appreciate things more”
39.3% said, “I worry more”
28.6% said, “I feel less hopeful about the future”
21.4% said, “I feel more hopeful about the future”
14.3% said, “I am depressed”
25% said, “I am sad”
32.1% said, “I am happy”

What do you miss most during the pandemic?

Sample answers include:

Public interactions

My family

Friends

Going to events, seeing people in person, traveling, visiting friends and family on the other coast, including seeing my big brother before he died!

Restaurants and shopping

Going out with friends, hugging people when meeting, window shopping, drinking coffee at my local coffee place, not worrying so much about catching the virus, talking to neighbors more, etc

The support group I was doing before

Have there been any “silver linings” because of the extra time at home during the pandemic?

Sample answers include:

No

More time to read

Technology

More time for practicing music

Concentrate on family more, cooking all sorts of recipes, playing with my cats, cycling more

Taking more walks with my dog

Spent more time with cats

Being at home more has forced me to find other things to do. I read a lot more, study things I’m interested in, and find my language/words have increased. I remember more, and the more I remember, the more I want to learn

We’ve made the results available as a downloadable PDF in case you want to discuss the answers offline.

We take a new community snapshot each month. If you would like to participate, please go to the current questions that are all about support groups. They are open until May 21, 2021.