Documenting psychosocial attitudes of persons with aphasia following semantic-based therapy: an exploratory study

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) for individuals with aphasia is very individualistic and subjective as the condition presents multifaceted impairments in communication skills. Most intervention strategies for persons with aphasia (PWA) emphasise improving communication and insignificantly focus on a person's social and emotional well-being, which are vital for effective social communication. The present study aims to analyse the effects of a semantic-based treatment approach on the QOL of PWA. The current study inculcated a “modified pre-test post-test design” to study the impact of semantic cueing for verbs and its thematic role (SCVTr) therapy among eleven Kannada-speaking PWAs. The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life-39 (SAQOL-39) Kannada version assessed QOL among PWAs. SAQOL-39 includes 39 physical, psychosocial, communication, and energy questions. The questionnaire was administered in pre-, mid-, post-, and follow-up phases after SCVTr therapy. The study deployed qualitative, quantitative, and visual inspection methods. The qualitative and quantitative scores for QOL measures showed pronounced effects among most participants across pre- to mid- to post-treatment phases. In addition, the results of maintenance of the QOL were observed among most participants post-SCVTr therapy. The uptrend in QOL among PWAs is attributed to the semantic activation enhanced through SCVTr protocol, near normal physical mobility, adequate social network, and family support, with a barrier-free environment. The study's findings pave the way for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) on the importance of aphasia intervention and its effect on QOL. Indeed, SLPs must observe every PWA beyond linguistic deficits and attempt to notice the psychosocial level, which may invariably vary with severity and other individualistic factors.