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Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a possible neuromodulatory tool to augment language therapy in post-stroke aphasia. However, there is limited information on whether tDCS may help to improve everyday functional communication. Aims: To investigate whether cerebellar tDCS combined with computerized aphasia treatment improves functional communication skills in individuals with chronic aphasia. Methods and Procedures: In a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, within-subject crossover study, participants received 15 sessions of anodal (n = 14) or cathodal (n = 14) cerebellar tDCS plus computerized aphasia treatment then sham plus computerized aphasia treatment, or the opposite order. Linear mixed-effects regression models were performed to evaluate (1) the effect of tDCS treatment on change in functional communication skills on the two dimensions of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Functional Assessment of Communication Skills for Adults (ASHA-FACS): Communication Independence (CI) scale and Qualitative Dimension of Communication (QDC) scale, and (2) the relationship between functional communication skills and trained and untrained naming abilities. Outcomes and Results: The results showed significant tDCS-induced gains for the overall QDC mean score, but not for the overall CI mean score. Cerebellar stimulation was more effective than sham for the overall QDC mean score immediately post-treatment, 2-weeks post-treatment and 2-months post-treatment. Follow up analysis separated by group showed that the change in the overall QDC mean score (combining both phases) were similar in participants receiving anodal or cathodal stimulation. We also found a significant linear association between the ASHA-FACS overall CI mean change scores and trained and untrained naming change scores for the tDCS condition but not sham. Conclusions: Our study provides preliminary evidence that cerebellar tDCS coupled with computerized aphasia treatment has the potential to improve the overall qualitative dimensions of functional communication skills in individuals with chronic aphasia. Clinical Trial Registration: Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Aphasia Treatment [NCT02901574] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study explores the efficacy of the ‘Echoes & Parent-Partnered Actions’ therapy programme in enhancing the linguistic and social competence of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). By addressing significant challenges in language acquisition, social communication, and ASD-related behaviours, this research fills a crucial gap in effective, tailored language therapy interventions. The methodology employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures to evaluate progress. Six participants with mild to moderate ASD were purposively selected based on specific criteria and engaged as a single experimental group in a ten-week intervention using the ‘Echoes & Parent-Partnered Actions’ programme. The results revealed substantial improvements in language comprehension, expressive abilities and social communication skills, as indicated by the post-test scores. These findings underscore the potential of the ‘Echoes & Parent-Partnered Actions’ programme as a valuable tool in language therapy for children with ASD. The study concludes by recommending the integration of this programme into educational and therapeutic settings and calling for further research to explore its long-term efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares two parent reports, the Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC) and the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). The ATEC consists of four subscales, as follows: (1) expressive language, (2) sociability, (3) sensory awareness, and (4) health. The MSEC is complementary to the ATEC in measuring complex language comprehension. The parents of 143 autistic children, from 2 to 22 years of age (mean 6.7 ± 5.1 years), completed the MSEC and the ATEC questionnaires and a clinician assessed their CARS score. The CARS score correlated strongly with all parent reports, the complex language comprehension MSEC (r = 0.60, p < 0.0001), expressive language (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001), sociability (r = 0.58, p < 0.0001), sensory awareness (r = 0.71, p < 0.0001), and health (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001), as well as the total ATEC score (r = 0.75, p < 0.0001). The strongest correlation was between the CARS score and the composite of all five parent-reported scores (total ATEC + MSEC, r = 0.77, p < 0.0001). These results suggest a high fidelity of the MSEC and ATEC parent reports and especially of their composite score, total ATEC + MSEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefrontal synthesis (PFS) is a component of constructive imagination. It is defined as the process of mentally juxtaposing objects into novel combinations. For example, to comprehend the instruction "put the cat under the dog and above the monkey," it is necessary to use PFS in order to correctly determine the spatial arrangement of the cat, dog, and monkey with relation to one another. The acquisition of PFS hinges on the use of combinatorial language during early childhood development. Accordingly, children with developmental delays exhibit a deficit in PFS, and frequent assessments are recommended for such individuals. In 2018, we developed the Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC), a parent-reported evaluation designed to assess PFS and combinatorial language comprehension. In this manuscript we use MSEC to identify differences in combinatorial language acquisition between ASD (N = 29,138) and neurotypical (N = 111) children. Results emphasize the utility of the MSEC in distinguishing language deficits in ASD from typical development as early as 2 years of age (p < 0.0001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Communication difficulties are common in people with dementia, and often present from an early stage. However, direct treatment options for people with dementia that positively influence their daily communication are scarce. Aims: To evaluate the potential impact and feasibility of a personalized logopaedic intervention. Methods & Procedures: A total of 40 community‐dwelling persons with dementia and their caregivers were recruited. Five experienced speech and language therapists (SLTs) delivered the six‐session Com‐mens intervention at home. Com‐mens aims to improve positive communication between people with dementia and their primary caregivers and comprises five elements: interactive history‐taking, dynamic observational assessment, education about the consequences of dementia on communication, development and use of personalized communication tools, use motivational, and person‐centred strategies by the SLT. We conducted a single‐group mixed‐methods pilot study with five measurements: baseline, directly after intervention, and at 3, 6 and 9 months follow‐up. Semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires for Experienced Communication in Dementia, quality of life, psychological well‐being and caregiver burden were conducted. Process evaluation was performed by interviewing participants, drop‐outs, SLTs and other stakeholders. Outcomes & Results: A total of 32 dyads completed the intervention. Repeated measures analyses revealed no significant changes over time. In the interviews, participants reported a positive impact on their feelings, increased communication skills and better coping with the diagnosis. Participants would recommend the intervention to others. Facilitators were timely delivery, personalized content and adequate reimbursement. Barriers were unfamiliarity with Com‐mens among referrers, an overburdened caregiver or disrupted family relationships. Conclusions & Implications: This newly developed logopaedic intervention is feasible and has a perceived positive impact on both people with dementia and their caregivers, which is confirmed by a stable pattern over a period of 1 year. Future comparative studies are needed to test the effectiveness of personalized interventions in this patient population. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject?: SLTs are experts in the field of communication, but even though communication problems are common between people with dementia and their caregivers, there is a lack of logopaedic guidelines and materials for the direct treatment for this population. Interventions that are available either focus on (professional) caregivers only or aim to enhance cognitive functioning and do not target on joined communication. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge?: A newly developed intervention called Com‐mens can be provided by trained SLTs and takes an average of six 1‐h sessions. The intervention is perceived to be valuable and feasible for people with dementia and their caregivers, by the participants themselves, as well as by healthcare professionals and other stakeholders. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Dissemination of this intervention will give SLTs skills, tools and materials to provide meaningful care to home‐dwelling persons with dementia and their caregivers. Also, persons with dementia and their caregivers will receive education and materials that can help them increase their understanding of communication problems, enhance their communication skills and better cope with the communication problems that result from dementia. We consider the Com‐mens intervention to be a valuable addition to the field of speech language therapy and dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educação is the property of Jose Luis Bizelli, editor of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Parkinson's can impact people's speech, cognition, pragmatics, and language, significantly affecting their conversations with others. The speech and language therapy approach called communication partner training (CPT) is effective for a range of communication difficulties. However, speech and language therapy interventions for people with Parkinson's predominantly focus on impairments, with little provision of CPT for this population. Better Conversations is a CPT approach that involves working with a dyad (the person with the communication difficulty and a conversation partner [CP]) to build conversation skills. It is effective at reducing barriers to conversation, and for some, it significantly increases targeted facilitatory strategies. Some approaches to CPT have been adapted to be delivered via telehealth. This can maximize ecological validity and convenience. Furthermore, telehealth is widely accepted as a delivery method for other interventions for Parkinson's. This study presents the protocol for a pilot feasibility study of a Better Conversations CPT delivered via telehealth to people living with Parkinson's and their CPs, called Better Conversations with Parkinson's (BCP). Objective: The primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility of the BCP program delivered via telehealth with a treatment group from a collaborating National Health Service (NHS) site to establish for a main trial whether BCP can be delivered as intended in an NHS setting. The aim is to establish: (1) the acceptability of the program for people living with Parkinson's, family members, and speech and language therapists (SLTs); (2) the feasibility of delivering the BCP program; (3) the recruitment and retention rates; (4) a sample size calculation; and (5) the most appropriate primary outcome measure. Methods: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from London-Central Research Ethics Committee (reference: 22/LO/0332). This case-series feasibility pilot study will recruit 10-12 dyads to ensure 10 complete data sets. Participants will be recruited by a collaborating NHS site located in England. Participants will be involved for 16 weeks (weeks 1-2 preintervention measures, weeks 3-8 intervention, weeks 10-12 postintervention measures, week 16 follow-up interview). Quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to analyze the study data. Speech, communication, and quality of life assessment data will be analyzed statistically to determine a suitably sensitive outcome measure. Descriptive statistics will be used to report on recruitment, attendance, and attrition. Finally, acceptability and feasibility will be evaluated using participant feedback, interviews, and the reflective diary and feedback of the SLT administering the therapy (by the research assistant who is the first author). This data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis. Results: This study was approved for funding from Parkinson's UK. Study recruitment commenced in July 2022. The results of the data analysis are expected to be available by September 2024. Conclusions: Insights from this study will provide valuable information about the acceptability and feasibility of a remotely delivered Better Conversations CPT approach for people living with Parkinson's and their CPs. An outcome of this study will be a manualized BCP program coproduced by people living with Parkinson's, their families, and a group of expert SLTs. The study results will guide the next stages of intervention development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a directed rhythmic-melodic voice training (SIPARI) compared to language therapy with the focus on improvement in expressive linguistic performance. 20 patients suffering from chronic non-fluent aphasia, allocated by coin tossing to either of the groups, participated in 32 single therapy sessions over a period of 4 months. Before and after therapy, independent testers performed a standardized language test (Aachener Aphasie Test). Behavioral assessments revealed that improvements of patients of the experimental group were clinically significant compared to those of the control group. These improvements concerned the description level articulation and prosody for spontaneous speech and the subtests repetition, naming, and comprehension. Based on these improvements, a significant increase in profile level (effect size (ES) = 2.028, p < 0.001) was assessed, an overall and clinically relevant measure of the severity of aphasia. Additional fMRI examinations yielded activation in the left superior frontal gyrus for the post-minus pre- therapy assessments only for participants of the experimental group. Since this brain region is reported to be particularly involved in executive processing, we assume that the directed procedure of the SIPARI treatment with regard to musical, linguistic, and cognitive function potentially holds the key for successful language rehabilitation. While our imaging results hint at a possible explanation for its efficacy, our behavioral results corroborate the efficacy of this therapy in the treatment of chronic non-fluent aphasia patients. DRKS00026730, 19.10.21, retrospectively registered https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00026730 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the perspectives of working-aged adults with post-stroke aphasia (PWA) towards what has or would help them in living well with aphasia (LWA). This paper reports the findings in relation to stroke care and its relevance for LWA. This qualitative study was designed with input from a Public and Patient Involvement advisory group. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 14 PWA. Data were analysed following principles of reflexive thematic analysis. Support services and LWA spanned five themes: Inpatient care; Support in the community; Speech therapy; Mental health; and Aphasia education and training. Per the findings, all aspects of stroke care were affected and challenged by aphasia. Access to services and information was variable. PWA of working-age, their families and children need access to person-centred stroke care and information responsive to their changing needs at all stages of recovery. Healthcare workers must be equipped with aphasia competency. The results highlight a need for equitable, transparent, responsive access to services, information and stroke liaison support. The findings extend knowledge of the importance of stroke care for supporting working-aged adults and their families to live well in the context of aphasia. There is a need for equitable, transparent access to a responsive integrated pathway of stroke care to support living well with aphasia. People with aphasia post-stroke and their families need access to person-centred stroke care and information responsive to their changing needs at all stages of recovery. This includes flexible access to mental healthcare and speech and language therapy. In order to access relevant care, people with post-stroke aphasia need access to information and stroke liaison support. Training to improve aphasia competency is imperative for healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estilos da Clínica is the property of FEUSP - Faculdade de Educacao da USP - Universidade de Sao Paulo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of MediSur is the property of Centro Provincial de Informacion de Ciencias Medicas de Cinfuegos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims: This preliminary study aimed to investigate therapy-induced electrophysiological changes in persons with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The investigated event-related potential (ERP) components associated with language processing were the mismatch negativity, P300, N400, and P600. Methods: A linguistic ERP test battery and standardized language assessment were administered in four patients with PPA of which two received speech-language therapy (SLT) and two did not receive therapy. The battery was administered twice with approximately 6 months in between in each patient. The results of the follow-up assessments were compared to the results of the initial assessments. Results: Although the results of the behavioral language assessment remained relatively stable between the initial and follow-up assessments, changes in the mean amplitudes, onset latencies, and duration of the ERP components were found in the four patients. In the two patients that did not receive SLT, an increased delay in 50% and a decreased mean amplitude in 25% of the measured ERP components were found. The electrophysiological changes found in the patients that received SLT were variable. Interestingly, the mismatch negativity and the N400 effect elicited by the categorical priming paradigm were less delayed and had an increased mean amplitude at the follow-up assessment in the patient with the non-fluent variant who received SLT. In this patient, the P600 component was absent at the initial assessment but present at the follow-up assessment. Conclusion: Although no clear patterns in electrophysiological changes between patients who received SLT and patients who did not receive SLT were found by our preliminary study, it seems like the SLT induced improvements or compensation mechanisms in some specific language comprehension processes in the patient with the NFV. The results of this study are still preliminary because only four heterogeneous patients were included. Future studies should include larger patient groups of the three clinical variants because the therapy-induced electrophysiological changes might differ depending on the clinical variant and the underlying pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the plethora of mobile apps available on the Apple App Store, more speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have adopted apps for speech-language therapy services, especially for pediatric clients. App Store reviews are publicly available data sources that can not only create avenues for communication between technology developers and consumers but also enable stakeholders such as parents and clinicians to share their opinions and view opinions about the app content and quality based on user experiences. Objective: This study examines the Apple App Store reviews from multiple key stakeholders (eg, parents, educators, and SLPs) to identify and understand user needs and challenges of using speech-language therapy apps (including augmentative and alternative communication [AAC] apps) for pediatric clients who receive speech-language therapy services. Methods: We selected 16 apps from a prior interview study with SLPs that covered multiple American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Big Nine competencies, including articulation, receptive and expressive language, fluency, voice, social communication, and communication modalities. Using an automatic Python (Python Software Foundation) crawler developed by our research team and a Really Simple Syndication feed generator provided by Apple, we extracted a total of 721 app reviews from 2009 to 2020. Using qualitative coding to identify emerging themes, we conducted a content analysis of 57.9% (418/721) reviews and synthesized user feedback related to app features and content, usability issues, recommendations for improvement, and multiple influential factors related to app design and use. Results: Our analyses revealed that key stakeholders such as family members, educators, and individuals with communication disorders have used App Store reviews as a platform to share their experiences with AAC and speech-language apps. User reviews for AAC apps were primarily written by parents who indicated that AAC apps consistently exhibited more usability issues owing to violations of design guidelines in areas of aesthetics, user errors, controls, and customization. Reviews for speech-language apps were primarily written by SLPs and educators who requested and recommended specific app features (eg, customization of visuals, recorded feedback within the app, and culturally diverse character roles) based on their experiences working with a diverse group of pediatric clients with a variety of communication disorders. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to compile and analyze publicly available App Store reviews to identify areas for improvement within mobile apps for pediatric speech-language therapy apps from children with communication disorders and different stakeholders (eg, clinicians, parents, and educators). The findings contribute to the understanding of apps for children with communication disorders regarding content and features, app usability and accessibility issues, and influential factors that impact both AAC apps and speech-language apps for children with communication disorders who need speech therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the feasibility of picture naming training in improving naming ability of patients with semantic dementia (SD). Methods A total of 14 cases of semantic dementia whose the first symptom was semantic memory impairment were given picture naming training 30 min/time, twice a day, for 5 d from October 2018 to December 2020 at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University. One day before and one day after the end of training, Picture Naming Test and Boston Naming Test (BNT) were used to evaluate the naming ability. Results After training, Picture Naming Test score (65.79 ± 34.54 vs. 49.79 ± 30.85; t = -3.297, P = 0.001) and BNT score [6.50 (4.75, 14.00) vs. 5.00 (3.00, 11.50); Z = -2.007, P = 0.045] were higher than before training. Conclusions Picture naming training can effectively improve the naming ability of patients with semantic dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the development of preverbal and naming skills of individuals with autism by adding musical practices to speech and language therapy. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group was applied. Turkish Early Development Language Test was administered to four autistic participants between the ages of 6-8 before therapy. According to the observer chart consisting of seven items, the non-verbal skills of the cases were monitored on the chart before and throughout the therapy process. Therapies were 15 minutes long and were applied for 10 sessions. Results: Individuals who received Music Therapy in addition language therapy showed success in acquiring skills in joint interest, attention, imitation, eye contact, communication initiation/maintenance skills, and name naming skills. Conclusion: Conclusion: In children with autism who have limitations in establishing joint interest, attention span, maintaining eye contact, imitation skills, initiating communication, maintaining communication skills and naming skills, adding musical activities to the therapy will make the therapy process more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bilinguals with post-stroke aphasia (BWA) require treatment options that are sensitive to their particular bilingual background and deficits across languages. However, they may experience limited access to bilingual clinical resources due to reduced availability of bilingual practitioners, geographical constraints, and other difficulties. Telerehabilitation can improve access to bilingual clinical services for BWA and facilitate the delivery of specific language treatments at distance, but more evidence on its effectiveness and reliability is needed. This study aimed to determine the equivalence of effectiveness and reliability of a semantic treatment for word retrieval deficits in BWA delivered via telerehabilitation relative to in-person therapy. Methods: We examined the retrospective data of 16 BWA who received 20 sessions of therapy based on semantic feature analysis for word retrieval deficits in person (n = 8) or via telerehabilitation (n = 8). The two groups were comparable on age, years of education, time of post-stroke onset, aphasia severity, and naming ability in both languages. Treatment effectiveness (i.e., effect sizes in the treated and the untreated language, and change on secondary outcome measures) and reliability (i.e., clinician adherence to treatment protocol) were computed for each delivery modality and compared across groups. Results: Significant improvements were observed in most patients, with no significant differences in treatment effect sizes or secondary outcomes in the treated and the untreated language between the teletherapy group and the in-person therapy group. Also, the average percentage of correctly delivered treatment steps by clinicians was high for both therapy delivery methods with no significant differences between the telerehabilitation vs. the in-person modality. Discussion: This study provides evidence of the equivalence of treatment gains between teletherapy and in-person therapy in BWA and the high reliability with which treatment for word retrieval deficits can be delivered via telerehabilitation, suggesting that the essential treatment components of the intervention can be conducted in a comparable manner in both delivery modalities. We further discuss the benefits and potential challenges of the implementation of telerehabilitation for BWA. In the future, telerehabilitation may increase access to therapy for BWA with varying linguistic and cultural backgrounds, thus, offering a more inclusive treatment approach to this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Progressive difficulties with spoken language occur across the spectrum of degenerative dementia. When not a primary presenting and dominant symptom, language difficulties may be overlooked in favor of more prominent cognitive, behavior, or motor deficits. The aim of this scoping review is to examine the extent and nature of the research evidence describing (1) the spoken language impairments found in nonlanguage led dementias, (2) their impact on everyday living, and (3) the reported language interventions. Methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, OVID-EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Speech BITE using terms related to spoken language for the following dementia types: Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), cortico-basal syndrome (CBS), behavior variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD), posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), and motor neuron disease associated with FTD (MND+FTD). Risk of bias was assessed with the Qual Syst tool. Results: Seventy-three eligible studies were included. A wide range of spoken language impairments were reported, involving both linguistic (e.g., syntactic processing) and other cognitive (e.g., sustained attention) underlying mechanisms. Although the severity of these deficits was scarcely reported, in some cases they manifested as non-fluent, dynamic, and global aphasias. No papers in the review described either the impact of these language impairments on everyday living or language therapies to treat them. Discussion: There is a need to understand better the level of disability produced by language impairment in people living with non–language-led dementias. Our findings suggest three calls for action: (1) research studies should assess the clinical relevance of any spoken language deficits examined, (2) both linguistic and cognitive underlying mechanisms should be fully described (to inform the design of effective language and behavioral interventions), and (3) trials of language therapy should be conducted in those groups of individuals where significant language impairment is proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living well with post‐stroke aphasia is supported by responsive, collaborative heath and related services, aphasia information and training for people with aphasia (PWA) and their social networks, and opportunities to contribute and participate autonomously in their communities. Several international surveys indicate shortcomings in the provision of long‐term support and, in Ireland, while there is a lack of data around service provision for PWA, there is evidence that post‐acute stroke services are fragmented and under‐resourced. The aim of this study was to survey Speech & Language Therapists (SLTs), due to their unique role in aphasia management, to understand what SLT and related support services and aphasia information and training are currently available to support living well with aphasia in Ireland. We developed and piloted a self‐administered, web‐based cross‐sectional survey with questions informed by a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis around living well with aphasia, and with input from a Public and Patient Involvement aphasia advisory group. Data from 95 SLTs working with PWA were analysed using descriptive statistics. Although SLT was generally available for PWA, the results highlight access barriers and evidence‐practice gaps in terms of the amount, intensity and timing of SLT to be maximally effective and there was a lack of PWA input into service design and evaluation. Access to other relevant supports such as mental health services was inconsistent and there was a lack of community support for families. There were shortcomings in access to aphasia information/training for PWA, families, friends and other healthcare professionals. There is a need for a coordinated and standardised approach to supporting PWA across Ireland. This study addresses an evidence gap around the provision of stroke services for PWA and is part of a larger project aiming to produce recommendations for improving person‐centred support to facilitate living well with aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into intervention with people with speech and language needs often takes the form of single-case/case series experimental studies (SCEDs) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This paper explores the nature of these designs, including their strengths/weaknesses and highlights the value of understanding the intervention outcomes for individual participants. An online survey gathered information on speech and language therapists' views on their use of the different research designs. We conclude that both research designs are used to inform practice. SCEDs, in particular, are used in developing theories of intervention and informing therapy with individuals. Sound experimental intervention studies of both designs are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aphasia is one of the most devastating symptoms in stroke survivors and severely affects patients' communication, quality of life, and social interactions. Several factors are critical to the prediction of aphasia recovery, including acute stroke management and subsequent language rehabilitation. A comprehensive assessment of language skills with appropriate instruments in different phases of post stroke months and years is needed in patients, in order to monitor their language improvement and to guide speech therapies over time. Beyond spontaneous recovery, the effects of speech and language therapy in terms of time and dosage of administration during the course of post stroke aphasia are still under investigation. Data point to its efficacy either in the early or in the chronic (> 6 months) post stroke phase, with greater effects if intensive treatments are provided. Tailored interventions for single patients' aphasia characteristics are recommended, with different levels of evidence for specific techniques. Ongoing trials and meta-analyses will be useful in order to change the allocation of rehabilitation resources for patients with aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of HNO is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of HNO is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the common perception of the use of preliminary language rehabilitation as a basic study to demonstrate the usefulness of media utilisation in language therapy. Based on the previous research, data were collected for 150 preliminary language rehabilitation workers and 142 questionnaires were used for data analysis. The study found that the perception of media usage in pre-language rehabilitation was necessary for language development and was also positive about the treatment. The use of media has been recognised as helpful in promoting attention, cognitive and creativity development. Also, the use of media as a treatment tool was agreed to, but it was recognized that the rules for utilizing the media were necessary and needed to know the proper site or program. Therefore, it was suggested that the development of sites and programs that can be used for language therapy is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]