Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 4 , Pages 623-627, April 2009

Patient-Reported Changes in Communication After Computer-Based Script Training for Aphasia

  • Larry M. Manheim, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
    • ,
  • Anita S. Halper, MA

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
    • RIC Academy, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    • ,
  • Leora Cherney, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
    • Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Leora Cherney, PhD, Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E Superior St, Chicago, IL 60611

Abstract 

Manheim LM, Halper AS, Cherney L. Patient-reported changes in communication after computer-based script training for aphasia.

Objective

To evaluate changes in patient-reported communication difficulty after a home-based, computer-delivered intervention designed to improve conversational skills in adults with aphasia.

Design

Delayed treatment design with baseline, preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up observations.

Setting

Outpatient rehabilitation.

Participants

Twenty subjects with chronic aphasia.

Interventions

Sessions with the speech-language pathologist to develop personally relevant conversational scripts, followed by 9 weeks of intensive home practice using a computer program loaded on a laptop, and weekly monitoring visits with the speech-language pathologist.

Main Outcome Measure

Communication Difficulty (CD) subscale of the Burden of Stroke Scale (BOSS).

Results

The intervention resulted in a statistically and clinically significant decrease of 6.79 points (P=.038) in the CD subscale of the BOSS during the intervention, maintained during the follow-up period.

Conclusions

The findings of this study provide positive albeit preliminary and limited support for the use of a home-based, computer-delivered language intervention program for improving patient-reported communication outcomes in adults with chronic aphasia. Additional research will be required to examine the efficacy and effectiveness of this intervention.

Key Words: Aphasia, Communication, Computer-assisted instruction, Cost, cost analysis, Rehabilitation

List of Abbreviations: BDAE, Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, BOSS, Burden of Stroke Scale, CD, Communication Difficulty

 

 Supported by the US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Education Research (grant no. H133B031127), through the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Technology Promoting Integration for Stroke Survivors: Overcoming Societal Barriers.

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(09)00068-9

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2008.10.022

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 4 , Pages 623-627, April 2009

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