Targeted intervention for multiple language disorders: a case study

Abstract

The efficacy of aphasia therapy has been demonstrated in group and single case studies. However, in group studies, treatment was underspecified and replication was impossible. In single case studies, treatment was clearly defined and experimentally controlled but its scope was generally limited, e.g. learning of a pre-determined and relatively low number of words or reading of irregular words. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an intensive (4–5 h/day), clearly defined, and model-based treatment in a subject—DA—with multiple language disorders who was beyond the period of spontaneous recovery. DA underwent a general neuropsychological and language evaluation 8 months post-onset. He had moderate comprehension disorders, reading and writing were slow and severely damaged, and his speech was agrammatic. DA's spontaneous production was analysed according to the Quantitative Production Analysis (QPA) method. Treatment lasted 8 months and was directed at each functional impairment. Results at the first and the final evaluation were compared. Important differences were found in many language tasks and in spontaneous production, showing that intensive and model-based treatment can improve the patient's daily use of language, even in a chronic subject past the period of spontaneous recovery.