Patient-Reported Changes in Communication After Computer-Based Script Training for Aphasia
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.
aInstitute for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
bDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
cCenter for Aphasia Research and Treatment, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
dRIC Academy, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Reprint requests to Leora Cherney, PhD, Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E Superior St, Chicago, IL 60611
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.
ABSTRACT