Outcome of Intensive Language Treatment in Aphasia

TLDR

Sixty‑eight aphasic inpatients underwent 9‑hour‑per‑week intensive language therapy for 6–8 weeks, with outcomes measured by the Aachen Aphasia Test and, for those with up to 12 months of aphasia, improvement adjusted for expected spontaneous recovery. Approximately two‑thirds of patients achieved significant AAT improvement, and a comparable proportion of chronic aphasia patients improved beyond the expected spontaneous recovery.

Abstract

Sixty-eight aphasic inpatients received intensive language treatment (9 hr per week over a period of 6–8 weeks). Outcome was assessed by means of the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT), a standardized test battery for the German language. For patients with duration of aphasia up to 12 months, amount of improvement was corrected by the expected rate of spontaneous recovery as determined by a previous multicenter follow-up study. About two thirds of the patients showed significant improvement in AAT performance according to psychometric single case analysis procedures. A similar rate of improvement was found for individuals with chronic aphasia beyond the stage of spontaneous recovery.