The authors of this study pursued to evaluate the expansion and restructuring of Constraint-Induced Aphasia Therapy (CIAT) beyond a single language card game exercise. Therapies that demonstrate efficacy in patients with chronic aphasia consist of intensity, involving the caregiver, and the transfer of behavior training to everyday life. CIAT-II encompasses all of these components. The authors address feasibility and treatment efficacy of CIAT-II.
Participants in the study consisted of four native English speakers with chronic stroke (>1 year post-stroke) exhibiting characteristics of a moderate Broca’s aphasia. The ages of the participants ranged from 60 to 83 years with a mean age of 71 years. All participants were right hand dominant prior to the …show more content…
At the beginning of each therapy day, participants and their caregivers completed the How Well scale of the Verbal Activity Log Scales. Five timed exercises were used in the same order each therapy day. The use of gestures for communication from both the therapist and the caregiver were discouraged. Tasks 1 and 2 were used as “warm-ups” or to prime the participant’s language for the proceeding tasks. Task 1 was a speech/repetition drill using words that are often omitted when an individual has a nonfluent aphasia. Task 2 was a phrase repetition drill where the participant repeated scripted phrases addressing activities of daily living (e.g. “is the coffee ready?”). In task 3 a language card came resembling “Go Fish” was played with the other participant in the cohort and a therapist. Picture descriptions of daily life situations printed in black and white were used for task 4. The objective of task 4 was to increase fluency of speech under the pressure of time. Scripted role-play between the caregiver and participant comprised task 5. Each task increased in difficulty as therapy
Participants in the study consisted of four native English speakers with chronic stroke (>1 year post-stroke) exhibiting characteristics of a moderate Broca’s aphasia. The ages of the participants ranged from 60 to 83 years with a mean age of 71 years. All participants were right hand dominant prior to the …show more content…
At the beginning of each therapy day, participants and their caregivers completed the How Well scale of the Verbal Activity Log Scales. Five timed exercises were used in the same order each therapy day. The use of gestures for communication from both the therapist and the caregiver were discouraged. Tasks 1 and 2 were used as “warm-ups” or to prime the participant’s language for the proceeding tasks. Task 1 was a speech/repetition drill using words that are often omitted when an individual has a nonfluent aphasia. Task 2 was a phrase repetition drill where the participant repeated scripted phrases addressing activities of daily living (e.g. “is the coffee ready?”). In task 3 a language card came resembling “Go Fish” was played with the other participant in the cohort and a therapist. Picture descriptions of daily life situations printed in black and white were used for task 4. The objective of task 4 was to increase fluency of speech under the pressure of time. Scripted role-play between the caregiver and participant comprised task 5. Each task increased in difficulty as therapy