Communication vulnerable in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND

Individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) exhibit speech disorders since the early stages that decrease the communication rate and interfere in social participation.

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a literature review on communication vulnerable and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

METHOD

Descriptors of the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) were used: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Health Vulnerability, Communication Barriers, Nonverbal Communication, and Communication Aids for Disabled. Articles in Portuguese and English from 2010 to 2015, fully available in the Virtual Health Library, PubMed, and Scopus were used. Duplicate articles and those not related to communication/language were excluded.

RESULTS

Of the 94 articles found, 37 met the criteria. All of them were published in the USA and Europe, none was Brazilian; 27% of 2012 to 2014; 40.5% descriptive studies and 24.3% case studies; 45.9% addressed ALS and 24.3%, other serious motor alterations, including ALS. A large proportion (89.2%) addressed AAC, 70.3% Brain-Computer Interface (BCI).

CONCLUSION

The results show that the researches recurrently addressed communication vulnerable, although not necessarily in these terms. The device which was most employed was the BCI, mainly in advanced stages of the disease.