The importance of aphasia therapy: a retrospective study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is the third most common cause of death in the United States. 30-35% of these stroke survivors have aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder, which has a neurological cause, affects reception and expression of language across modalities. Global aphasia is associated with multiple areas of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes of the brain. Persons with global aphasia exhibit a combination of expressive and receptive language deficits in all modalities. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the progress of a small group of persons with global aphasia after a year of therapy at WSU's Evelyn Henderson Cassat Speech-LanguageHearing Clinic. METHODS: The data for this study were collected from the Cassat Clinic. Four clients diagnosed with global aphasia were selected randomly. Initial and final measurements in expressive, receptive, and functional communication skills were collected from each client's file. Personal information about the clients included age, sex, marital status, and family support to analyze the data. The baseline data were compared to the data or progress after a year or two semesters of therapy at the clinic. RESULTS: The collected data showed the progress of clients in particular goals. New goals were added if client achieved progress or the cuing was reduced depending on progress. CONCLUSION: Explorations like this one can increase public awareness about global aphasia and the importance of aphasia therapy.