Intensive therapy

People with aphasia less than one month post onset could have access to intensive aphasia rehabilitation if they can tolerate it.

Reference: Godecke et al., 2014; Godecke, Hird, Lalor, Rai, & Phillips, 2012

NHMRC level of Evidence: II

Rationale: Research has shown that people with mild to severe aphasia who can interact for up to 30 minutes at day-14 post stroke benefit from daily aphasia therapy when it is provided at 45-60 minutes per day for 20 sessions. The total amount of therapy equates to between 15-20 hours of therapy within the first 4-5 weeks post-stroke.
After controlling for initial aphasia and stroke severity, people with aphasia who received the above therapy regimen achieved 18% greater recovery than those who received standard care on the Aphasia Quotient score of the Western Aphasia Battery at therapy completion. This therapeutic benefit was maintained at six months post-stroke, indicating a significant improvement in communication recovery over and above what is expected of spontaneous recovery and usual ward-based aphasia therapy. (Godecke et al., 2014; Godecke, Hird, Lalor, Rai, & Phillips, 2012).

References:

1. Godecke, E., Ciccone, N. A., Granger, A. S., Rai, T., West, D., Cream, A., . . . Hankey, G. J. (2014). A comparison of aphasia therapy outcomes before and after a Very Early Rehabilitation programme following stroke. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 49(2). doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12074
2. Godecke, E., Hird, K., Lalor, E. E., Rai, T., & Phillips, M. R. (2012). Very early poststroke aphasia therapy: a pilot randomized controlled efficacy trial. International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society, 7(8). doi: 10.1111/j.1747-4949.2011.00631.x