Open AccessFEASIBILITY OF AN INTENSIVE SPEECHLANGUAGE THERAPY PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE APHASIA
Author(s) -
Maria Isabel d’Ávila Freitas,
Ricardo Nitríni
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
dementia and neuropsychologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.54
H-Index - 21
ISSN - 1980-5764
DOI - 10.5327/1980-5764.rpda048
Subject(s) - primary progressive aphasia , telerehabilitation , aphasia , conversation , psychological intervention , videoconferencing , medicine , connected speech , cognition , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , audiology , telemedicine , computer science , multimedia , cognitive psychology , dementia , health care , nursing , communication , neuroscience , disease , pathology , frontotemporal dementia , economics , economic growth
Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is caused by selective neurodegeneration of the specific language areas in the brain. Until recently, this area had been dominated by impairment-focused interventions, more specifically, word-retrieval therapies. The compensatory-based approach targets everyday use of conversation between a people with PPA (pwPPA) and the family member or carer, and is underpinned by an assessment of those strategies which facilitate communication and those that act as a barrier. Objective: To analyze the feasibility of an intensive SLT program for pwPPA. Methods: Three patients with PPA (1 with PPA-S, 1 PPA-NF and 1 PPA-L) received the treatment (2 by face-to-face format and one by videoconference/telerehabilitation). The program comprised an initial evaluation of 2 hours (day 1), five 1-hour treatment sessions on consecutive days (days 2 to 6), followed by a post-treatment evaluation (day 7) to determine the results of the intensive therapy. Results: The treatment provided a greater load of cognitive-linguistic stimuli, which promoted some gains in speech intelligibility, functional communication improving general desire to engage in communicative exchanges relative to baseline. Conclusions: The intensive program was feasible and that some gains in functional communication can be made after five consecutive sessions in the same week.