Psychomotor therapy of aphasia: A general framework and preliminary results

Abstract

Abstract A technique for the treatment of aphasia has been developed (psychomotor therapy) which concentrates on the treatment of expressive skills, circumvents the problems of poor comprehension and applies to impairments that remain substantial after spontaneous recovery. The technique addresses control functions that regulate rate-related speech processes and is based on the co-ordination of head movement with breathing, articulatory gestures and speech prosody. Fifteen aphasic patients, long time post-onset of language problems, were controlled during four months of no psychomotor treatment, and then treated for six months or one year. Results showed that those classed as moderate to severe Broca's or Wernicke's aphasics improved with treatment considerably, whilst those with mild Broca's aphasia or speech apraxia did not. This, it is argued, indicates the centrality of control deficits in aphasia and may offer potential benefits to ‘chronic’ Wernicke's aphasics, who currently have a poor prognosis.