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

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.