Lee Silverman Voice Treatment BIG® for a Person With Stroke.

The extant literature suggests the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment BIG® (LSVT BIG) program is an effective intervention for persons with Parkinson's disease; however, no literature or research on the use of this program as an intervention for persons with stroke exists. We examined the effects of the LSVT BIG program for a 52-yr-old community-dwelling woman with mild to moderate upper extremity hemiparesis 2 yr after a stroke and the feasibility of delivering the home exercise component of the program in a game-based format. We made measurements at pretest, posttest, and 6-wk follow-up. The participant demonstrated self-reported improvements in occupational performance and satisfaction and large improvements in upper extremity motor function. The next step in this research is to deliver LSVT BIG and a home game-based program with a larger, more diverse population of persons with chronic stroke to further determine the effectiveness and appropriateness of this intervention.

Use of computer games as an intervention for stroke.

Current rehabilitation for persons with hemiparesis after stroke requires high numbers of repetitions to be in accordance with contemporary motor learning principles. The motivational characteristics of computer games can be harnessed to create engaging interventions for persons with hemiparesis after stroke that incorporate this high number of repetitions. The purpose of this case report was to test the feasibility of using computer games as a 6-week home therapy intervention to improve upper extremity function for a person with stroke. One person with left upper extremity hemiparesis after stroke participated in a 6-week home therapy computer game intervention. The games were customized to her preferences and abilities and modified weekly. Her performance was tracked and analyzed. Data from pre-, mid-, and postintervention testing using standard upper extremity measures and the Reaching Performance Scale (RPS) were analyzed. After 3 weeks, the participant demonstrated increased upper extremity range of motion at the shoulder and decreased compensatory trunk movements during reaching tasks. After 6 weeks, she showed functional gains in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs despite no further improvements on the RPS. Results indicate that computer games have the potential to be a useful intervention for people with stroke. Future work will add additional support to quantify the effectiveness of the games as a home therapy intervention for persons with stroke.