A Moderately Intensive Functional Treatment For Severe Auditory Comprehension Deficits Associated with Aphasia

Severe, chronic, auditory comprehension deficits secondary to aphasia can adversely impact an individual’s quality of life by limiting successful communication interactions (Bose et al., 2009). Furthermore, individuals lacking awareness of comprehension deficits may be less inclined to compensate for communication breakdowns (Knollman-Porter, Dietz, & Groh, 2012). Interventions utilizing intense and repetitive stimulation are recommended to promote neuroplasticity, and therefore, language function following a stroke (Kleim & Jones, 2008; Kurland et al., 2012). More specifically, highly intensive treatment protocols (two hours a day, five days a week for three weeks) for severe comprehension deficits have demonstrated promising gains in word comprehension and awareness with corrective feedback and researcher-selected stimuli (Knollman-Porter et al., 2012). However, not all clients and caregivers can tolerate intensive treatment protocols. Additionally, the importance of stimuli type, particularly personally relevant stimuli, has been suggested in promoting treatment outcomes (Hinckley & Carr, 2005; McKelvey et al., 2010). Therefore, further research is needed to examine more functional treatment options for individuals with comprehension deficits. This study investigated the impact of a moderately intensive treatment protocol using personally relevant stimuli and corrective feedback on auditory comprehension and self-awareness in individuals with severe, chronic, aphasia