ANCHOR: Helping people with aphasia stay connected with friends
Official title: Exploratory study of the efficacy and feasibility of the Aphasia: Nurturing Connections, Honoring Ongoing Relationships (ANCHOR) program
Funded at Bowling Green State University · NIH-11371983 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A small, early-stage study will test whether a three-session, therapist-guided program plus a supportive online platform can help people with aphasia stay connected with friends during early rehabilitation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Bowling Green State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bowling Green, United States) |
| Project start | May 8, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $370,930 |
| NIH project number | 1R21DC022874-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11371983 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in the acute stage of aphasia rehabilitation and their designated friend or support person.
✕Less likely to help
Some participants may not experience enough benefit during the acute phase to change social connectedness.
What this research studies
If you have aphasia, staying connected with friends is hard and can affect mood and health. This project tests a short, three-session program led by a speech-language pathologist, plus a digital platform teammates can use to practice and reinforce communication. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive the ANCHOR program or usual care, to see if the program improves social connection and well-being in the acute rehabilitation period.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce isolation and improve quality of life for people with aphasia and their friends.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work suggests social support interventions can help, but this is an early randomized trial for this specific program.
Where this research is happening
-
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Archer, Brent — Bowling Green State University
- Study coordinator: Archer, Brent
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Communication Bridge: Improving language therapy for people with primary progressive aphasia
A proven language-therapy program called Communication Bridge helps people with primary progressive aphasia improve and maintain how they communicate with others.
-
Neural signals linked to recovery from aphasia after stroke
This grant follows people who recently had a stroke and aphasia to understand why some recover language abilities better than others.
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Bilingualism and language resilience in Hispanic people with primary progressive aphasia
Researchers compare different bilingual experiences to see how they relate to language decline and thinking skills in Hispanic adults with primary progressive aphasia.
-
Functional reorganization of language and general brain networks in aphasia
This project studies how language areas and general brain networks work together to help people recover language after a stroke, by looking at brain activity and responses to language tasks.
-
eSANA: revealing and improving AAC use after stroke for aphasia
A project to explore how people with aphasia after a stroke can best use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) during early rehabilitation.
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Cortical Organization of Syntax in Aphasia
A patient-facing study to understand how brain injury affects sentence structure and help people with aphasia communicate more clearly.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.