ABSTRACT
Aphasic patients who met stringent selection criteria were assigned randomly to three groups: clinic treatment by a speech pathologist for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of no treatment; home treatment by a trained volunteer for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of no treatment; or deferred treatment for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of treatment by a speech pathologist. At 12 weeks after entry, language measures indicated that the clinic-treatment patients made significantly more improvement than did the deferred-treatment patients, and improvement in home-treatment patients did not differ significantly from either clinic- or deferred-treatment patients. At 24 weeks after entry, after deferred-treatment patients had received clinic treatment, there were no significant differences among the groups. These results suggest that clinic treatment for aphasia is efficacious, and delaying treatment for 12 weeks does not compromise ultimate improvement.
Subject(s)
Aphasia/therapy , Home Care Services , Language Therapy , Aged , Clinical Trials as Topic , Hospitals, Veterans , Humans , Middle Aged , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , Random Allocation , Time Factors , United States , VolunteersABSTRACT
Twelve weeks of therapy emphasizing functional communication content was conducted twice weekly in a group setting for seven chronic aphasic patients whose average post-onset time was 97.9 months. Porch Index of Communicative Abilities (PICA) test scores did not change significantly as a result of this treatment. Communicative Abilities in Daily Living (CADL) test scores, however, revealed statistically significant improvement in post-treatment performances. A final administration of CADL tests six weeks after cessation of functional communication treatment indicated that the positive change in CADL scores had been maintained.
Subject(s)
Aphasia/therapy , Communication , Language Therapy , Activities of Daily Living , Aged , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological TestsABSTRACT
Thirty-seven aphasic men received 8-10 hr of individual treatment each week for 12 weeks from a home therapist (wife, friend, relative) who was trained and directed by a speech pathologist. Treatment was followed by 12 weeks of no treatment. Patients were evaluated at entry and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks after entry with a battery of speech and language measures. The group made substantial progress on all measures during the 12 weeks of treatment and ceased to progress when treatment was discontinued. Progress for the home treatment patients did not differ significantly from that of patients who received 12 weeks of individual treatment from speech pathologists or from that of patients for whom treatment was deferred for 12 weeks. Patient selection, training of the home therapists, and other methodological aspects are described to assist speech pathologists in making decisions about the use of trained volunteers in aphasia treatment.