Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2018 Jul 13;61(7):1664-1690. doi: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-16-0102.
This study investigated changes in oral-verbal expressive language associated with improvements following 2 treatment periods of constraint-induced language therapy in 4 participants with stroke-induced chronic aphasia. Generalization of treatment to untrained materials and to discourse production was also analyzed, as was the durability of the treatment effect.
Participants with aphasia were assessed using standardized measures and discourse tasks at 3 to 4 time points to document behavioral changes throughout each of two 30-hr treatment periods of constraint-induced language therapy. Daily probes of trained and untrained materials were also administered.
Despite participant heterogeneity, behavioral results for each person with aphasia indicated a positive response to treatment following each treatment period indicated by performance on standardized tests, trained materials, or both. Treatment effects generalized to some degree to untrained stimuli and to discourse measures and were generally maintained at follow-up testing.
Data support the utility of a 2nd treatment period. Results are relevant to rehabilitation in chronic aphasia, confirming that significant language gains continue well past the point of spontaneous recovery and can occur in a relatively short time period. Importantly, changes are not confined to a single treatment period, suggesting that people with aphasia may benefit from multiple doses of high-intensity treatment.
本研究调查了 4 名脑卒中后慢性失语症患者在接受 2 个疗程的强制性语言治疗后的口语表达语言变化，探讨了治疗对未训练材料和话语生成的泛化，以及治疗效果的持久性。
采用标准化评估和话语任务，在 3 至 4 个时间点对失语症患者进行评估，以记录每个 30 小时强制性语言治疗疗程中的行为变化。还对训练和未训练材料进行了日常探测。
尽管参与者存在异质性，但每位失语症患者的行为结果表明，在每个治疗周期后，他们对治疗有积极的反应，这表现在标准化测试、训练材料或两者上的表现。治疗效果在一定程度上泛化到未训练的刺激物和话语测量上，并且在随访测试中通常保持。
数据支持第二个治疗周期的有效性。结果与慢性失语症的康复相关，证实了显著的语言进步可以持续很长时间，远远超过自发恢复的时间，并且可以在相对较短的时间内发生。重要的是，变化并不局限于单一的治疗周期，这表明失语症患者可能受益于多次高强度治疗。
