An acquired brain injury can cause a variety of conditions and impairments. Aphasia affects linguistic functions in the brain to different extent and degree, which entails negative impact on social interactions with the surrounding environment. Adjusting the ways of communicating can facilitate conversation and informational exchange. Previous studies have shown that knowledge about aphasia lacks among the public and care givers. Persons with aphasia are likely to interact with officials within the support system. These professionals with various education will partake in assessments and decisions that will have significant impact on persons with aphasia and their families. It is essential that officials have sufficient knowledge of the diverse individual needs in order to provide adequate support. According to governmental laws and regulations, officials should offer communicational support regardless of the service or support they provide. The literature suggests that knowledge about aphasia is also lacking among officials. Since there is little or no research on the subject, motivation was given for the study at hand. A qualitative study was conducted on six informants, all professionals who offer different kinds of service and support, at various levels and within different fields of the support system. The results implied that their knowledge about aphasia was insufficient on all accounts, except for awareness of psychosocial consequences. Four out of six informants had lacking knowledge about communicational support, two had greater understanding of communicational needs and more competence in facilitating strategies. Since respondents were few, this study may primarily serve as a motivation for further research on the subject, and encourage communicational training.

I det här självständiga arbetet ville vi få mer kunskap kring hur TAKK (tecken som alternativ kompletterande kommunikation) kan användas som ett medierande redskap samt hur TAKK kan främja barn som är i behov av kommunikativt stöd. Vi valde att utgå från det sociokulturella perspektivet då vi har valt att ta reda på mer kring hur TAKK kan användas som ett medierande redskap. Empirin har hämtats genom kvalitativa intervjuer som vi sedan har sorterat, kategoriserat och analyserat i vårt arbete. Resultatet visar att TAKK används som ett medierande redskap för att främja barns olika behov av stöd för att kunna kommunicera.

Delaktighet är en mänsklig rättighet. Genom att ha möjlighet att kommunicera sina behov görs samhället mer tillgängligt vilket är en förutsättning för delaktighet. Kommunikativt och kognitivt stöd är nödvändiga verktyg för att underlätta kommunikation för personer med funktionsnedsättning. Trots det följs Socialstyrelsens rekommendationer kring önskvärd kunskap hos handläggare som arbetar med personer med funktionsnedsättning selektivt. Med utgångspunkt i observationer som gjordes under den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen (VFU) hade syftet i denna studie främst varit att undersöka det individuella ansvaret för fortsatt lärande bland handläggare. För att uppnå syftet användes mixed methods design för social rättvisa med utforskande sekventiell design som grund. Data från fas 1 (VFU-perioden) integrerades i en enkät (fas 2) som sedan användes för datainsamling under den tredje, kvantitativa, fasen för att få en uppfattning om vissa utvalda observationer från fas 1 kunde generaliseras. Ett pedagogiskt mål inom ramen för social rättvisa var att medvetandegöra handläggare om att kognitivt stöd inte nödvändigtvis krävde specialutbildning och därmed främja delaktiggörande av personer med funktionsnedsättning. Resultat bekräftade observationerna att alla brister inte kunde reduceras till organisation. Verkligheten var mångfacetterad och handlingsutrymmet var begränsad i olika grad. Mycket informellt lärande skedde i arbetsgruppen men stort ansvar för egen kunskapsutveckling lades på arbetsgivaren. / Participation is a human right. By being able to communicate one’s needs, society is made more accessible, which is a prerequisite for participation. Communicative and cognitive support are necessary tools in facilitating communication for people with disabilities. Nevertheless, the National Board of Health and Welfare's recommendations on desirable knowledge among disability assistance officers are followed selectively. Based on observations made during work-based learning (WBL) period, the aim of this study had been to examine disability assistance officers’ individual responsibility for their own continuous learning. To achieve the research aim, social justice design with exploratory sequential mixed methods design as a basis was used. Qualitative data collected during phase 1 (WBL period) were integrated into a survey (phase 2) which was then used for data collection during the third, quantitative, phase to explore ​​whether selected observations from phase 1 could be generalized. A pedagogical objective within the framework of social justice was to raise awareness among assistance officers that being able to offer cognitive support did not necessarily require special education, and thus to promote participation of people with disabilities. Results confirmed observations made during phase 1 that not all shortcomings could be reduced to organization. The reality was multifaceted and assistance officers’ discretion was limited to varying degrees. A lot of informal learning took place in working groups, but great responsibility for one’s own knowledge development was placed on the employer.