Abstract
An estimated 390,000 to 520,000 individuals with severe aphasia (IWSA) currently live
in the United States. IWSA experience profound social isolation, which is associated
with a wide range of negative health outcomes, including mortality. Treatments for
severe aphasia frequently focus on compensatory communication approaches or a discrete
communication act rather than on participation-based treatment. The purpose of this
study was to determine whether IWSA demonstrated improved performance on standardized
language measures, patient-reported outcome measures, and connected speech samples
as a result of client-centered conversation group treatment. Results of assessments
conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, and maintenance intervals were variable
across participants. All participants demonstrated improvement in at least one of
the outcome measures considered. Importantly, none of these measures fully captured
how IWSA were able to convey their thoughts in supported conversation. The results
lend support for the use of conversation treatment for, and for further study in,
this subpopulation of individuals with aphasia.
Keywords
severe aphasia - conversation treatment - discourse level treatment
