Assessing Reading in Bilingual Aphasia (ARiBA)

Background: Following a stroke, bilingual adults with aphasia routinely demonstrate difficulties
in reading comprehension. Bilingual adults with aphasia who experience reading difficulties may
report reduced social participation and an overall decrease in quality of life given that reading is
vital for accessing public health and safety information, completing daily activities, and pursuing
hobbies.

Objective: The aim of this project is to investigate reading difficulties after stroke for Spanish-
English bilingual adults with aphasia

Methodology: The ARiBA study is currently recruiting Spanish-English bilingual healthy
adults, Spanish-English bilingual adults with aphasia, and English monolingual adults with
aphasia. All study participants will complete: i) a series of reading and writing assessments in
English/Spanish or just English and ii) two eye tracking experiments. During eye tracking,
participants will read sentences on a computer screen and answer comprehension questions while
an eye tracker monitors their eye movements.

Expected Outcomes: The clinical assessment and eye tracking data will reveal how individuals
with aphasia experience and compensate for reading comprehension difficulties at the word and
sentence-level post-stroke.

Significance: The outcomes of this study will improve clinical diagnosis of reading and writing
difficulties after stroke, especially for bilingual individuals. The results should also guide future
efforts to support literacy intervention in post-stroke aphasia to improve quality of life and
reading enjoyment and fulfillment.