Effect of Constraint-induced Aphasia Therapy on Chronic Aphasia after Stroke / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of short-term constraint-induced aphasia therapy on chronic aphasia after stroke. Meth-ods 30 stroke patients with chronic aphasia accepted speech therapy for a total of 30 hours. The control group (n=15) accepted routine speech training and the treatment group (n=15) accepted constraint-induced aphasia therapy 3 hours a day. They were assessed with the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and the Communicative Activity Log (CAL) before and after treatment. Results The treatment group im-proved significantly in oral expression, naming and repetition function of WAB after treatment (P<0.001), but not significantly in listening understanding (P=0.066);while the control group improved significantly in oral expression (P<0.001). The treatment group also significant-ly improved in CAL (P<0.001). Conclusion Constraint-induced aphasia therapy can significantly improve the speech for stroke patients with chronic aphasia in the short term.